Malicious dnscat2 DNS Tunneling C2 Traffic
- Category
- dns_query
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-06-21
- Updated
- 2026-08-28
ATT&CK techniques
C2 → ExfiltrationRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
Impact
What it detects
This rule detects DNS queries containing the dnscat marker string used by the dnscat2 tunneling tool. It maps to command-and-control and data exfiltration over DNS where an operator encodes traffic in oversized MX and TXT lookups to evade network controls. Detecting the dnscat pattern surfaces DNS-based C2 beaconing.
Reporting behind it
- withsecure.comhttps://www.withsecure.com/en/resources-hub/w-labs/attack-detection-fundamentals-c2-and-exfiltration-lab-2/
- attack.mitre.orghttps://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1071/004/
- attack.mitre.orghttps://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1048/003/
- attack.mitre.orghttps://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1572/
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
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