Suspicious disablement of the Windows Firewall using PowerShell commands

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

Defense Evasion (TA0005)

ATT&CK Technique

Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify System Firewall (T1562.004)

Severity

Medium

Description

The Windows Firewall has been disabled using PowerShell. Malware may turn it off to exfiltrate data and communicate with C2 servers.

Attacker's Goals

An attacker may turn the firewall off to exfiltrate data and communicate with C2 servers.

Investigative actions

  • Check Windows event logs to see the PowerShell command or script that was executed.
  • Check whether the PowerShell command is benign or normal for the host and/or user performing it.
  • Investigate the endpoint to determine if it's a legitimate process that disabled the firewall.