Detectionhightest

VMToolsd Suspicious Child Process

Detects suspicious child process creations of VMware Tools process which may indicate persistence setup

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bohops, Bhabesh RajCreated Fri Oct 08Updated Tue Jul 255687f942-867b-4578-ade7-1e341c46e99awindows

Log Source

WindowsProcess Creation

ProductWindows← raw: windows

CategoryProcess Creation← raw: process_creation

Events generated when a new process is spawned on the system. Covers command-line arguments, parent/child relationships, and process metadata.

Detection Logic

detection:
    selection_parent:
        ParentImage|endswith: '\vmtoolsd.exe'
    selection_img:
        - Image|endswith:
              - '\cmd.exe'
              - '\cscript.exe'
              - '\mshta.exe'
              - '\powershell.exe'
              - '\pwsh.exe'
              - '\regsvr32.exe'
              - '\rundll32.exe'
              - '\wscript.exe'
        - OriginalFileName:
              - 'Cmd.Exe'
              - 'cscript.exe'
              - 'MSHTA.EXE'
              - 'PowerShell.EXE'
              - 'pwsh.dll'
              - 'REGSVR32.EXE'
              - 'RUNDLL32.EXE'
              - 'wscript.exe'
    filter_main_vmwaretools_script:
        Image|endswith: '\cmd.exe'
        CommandLine|contains:
            - '\VMware\VMware Tools\poweron-vm-default.bat'
            - '\VMware\VMware Tools\poweroff-vm-default.bat'
            - '\VMware\VMware Tools\resume-vm-default.bat'
            - '\VMware\VMware Tools\suspend-vm-default.bat'
    filter_main_empty:
        Image|endswith: '\cmd.exe'
        CommandLine: ''
    filter_main_null:
        Image|endswith: '\cmd.exe'
        CommandLine: null
    condition: all of selection* and not 1 of filter_main_*