Suspicious SonicWall NetExtender VPN Command-Line Authentication with Always-Trust (via process_creation)

ATT&CK techniques

Initial Access → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
- T1078Valid Accounts
- T1133External Remote Services
Execution
Persistence
- T1078Valid Accounts
- T1133External Remote Services
Priv Esc
- T1078Valid Accounts
Defense Evasion
- T1078Valid Accounts
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects the SonicWall NetExtender client being driven from the command line with inline username and password and the always-trust flag, the initial-access behavior in the Fog intrusion where stolen VPN credentials were replayed to enter the environment. Adversaries script NetExtender to authenticate with harvested credentials while suppressing certificate prompts, so a scripted VPN login on an endpoint is worth investigating against expected usage.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious SonicWall NetExtender VPN Command-Line Authentication with Always-Trust (via process_creation)

Pivot detection · T1078 · 9 related

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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