PowerShell pfx certificate extraction

Cortex XDR Analytics Alert Reference by data source

Product
Cortex XDR
Last date published
2024-12-03
Category
Analytics Alert Reference
Order
data source

Synopsis

Activation Period

14 Days

Training Period

30 Days

Test Period

N/A (single event)

Deduplication Period

1 Day

Required Data

  • Requires:
    • XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)

Detection Modules

Detector Tags

ATT&CK Tactic

Credential Access (TA0006)

ATT&CK Technique

Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files (T1552.001)

Severity

Informational

Description

PowerShell was used to extract a pfx certificate file.

Attacker's Goals

Attackers may export certificates to .pfx files to use them for authentication, persistence or NTLM extraction.

Investigative actions

  • Check if the pfx creation is legitimate for the user (Testing, IT, etc.).
  • Follow further actions done by the user (ex. authentication using certificates).

Variations

Suspicious PowerShell pfx certificate extraction

Synopsis

ATT&CK Tactic

Credential Access (TA0006)

ATT&CK Technique

Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files (T1552.001)

Severity

Low

Description

A user used PowerShell to extract a pfx certificate file.

Attacker's Goals

Attackers may export certificates to .pfx files to use them for authentication, persistence or NTLM extraction.

Investigative actions

  • Check if the pfx creation is legitimate for the user (Testing, IT, etc.).
  • Follow further actions done by the user (ex. authentication using certificates).