Windows Process Execution of Renamed cloudflared.exe with Tunnel/Run Command Arguments

ATT&CK techniques

C2

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
- T1090.001Internal Proxy
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule flags Windows process creation events where a binary path ends with cloudflared.exe (or common cloudflared variants) while the command line includes Cloudflare Tunnel-related flags such as "-config", "-connector-id", and tunnel "run" or cleanup arguments. Attackers may rename or copy legitimate binaries to blend in while still invoking tunnel functionality for command-and-control or connectivity. The detection relies on process creation telemetry (process image path, command line contents) and matches either known command-line patterns or one of the hardcoded SHA-256 hashes.

Reporting behind it

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Windows Process Execution of Renamed cloudflared.exe with Tunnel/Run Command Arguments

Pivot detection · T1090.001 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

windows-process-execution-of-renamed-cloudflared-exe-with-tunnel-run-command-arg-e0c69ebd

title: Windows Process Execution of Renamed cloudflared.exe with Tunnel/Run Command Arguments
id: 73249d95-58af-4575-bd2c-9bc6eb61e6e9
status: test
description: This rule flags Windows process creation events where a binary path ends with cloudflared.exe (or common cloudflared variants) while the command line includes Cloudflare Tunnel-related flags such as "-config", "-connector-id", and tunnel "run" or cleanup arguments. Attackers may rename or copy legitimate binaries to blend in while still invoking tunnel functionality for command-and-control or connectivity. The detection relies on process creation telemetry (process image path, command line contents) and matches either known command-line patterns or one of the hardcoded SHA-256 hashes.
references:
  - https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases
  - https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/connections/connect-networks/do-more-with-tunnels/trycloudflare/
  - https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared
  - https://www.intrinsec.com/akira_ransomware/
  - https://www.guidepointsecurity.com/blog/tunnel-vision-cloudflared-abused-in-the-wild/
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_renamed_cloudflared.yml
tags:
  - attack.command-and-control
  - attack.t1090.001
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2023-12-20
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection_cleanup:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
      - " tunnel "
      - "cleanup "
    CommandLine|contains:
      - "-config "
      - "-connector-id "
  selection_tunnel:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
      - " tunnel "
      - " run "
    CommandLine|contains:
      - "-config "
      - "-credentials-contents "
      - "-credentials-file "
      - "-token "
  selection_accountless:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
      - -url
      - tunnel
  selection_hashes:
    Hashes|contains:
      - SHA256=2fb6c04c4f95fb8d158af94c137f90ac820716deaf88d8ebec956254e046cb29
      - SHA256=b3d21940a10fdef5e415ad70331ce257c24fe3bcf7722262302e0421791f87e8
      - SHA256=1fbd8362b2d2d2e6a5750ae3db69cd1815e6c1d31da48a98b796450971a8e039
      - SHA256=0409c9b12f9d0eda86e461ed9bdabeefb00172b26322079681a0bdf48e68dc28
      - SHA256=7cfb411d04bac42ef93d1f0c93c0a481e38c6f4612b97ae89d4702595988edc7
      - SHA256=5b3c2d846ab162dc6bc595cce3a49de5731afde5d6060be7066d21b013a28373
      - SHA256=ce95df7f69664c3df19b76028e115931919a71517b776da7b42d353e2ff4a670
      - SHA256=1293525a19cfe3bc8296b62fbfe19f083632ed644a1c18c10b045a1d3030d81a
      - SHA256=af2b9161cfcb654b16408cd6b098afe9d1fb61a037d18d7090a119d4c0c8e0f0
      - SHA256=39ddceb56a15798826a5fc4892fa2b474c444bb4d7a8bf2fa95e41cab10fa7a1
      - SHA256=ccd11f2328023a0e7929e845d5b6e7bc783fb4650d65faef3ae090239d4bbce2
      - SHA256=b6e5c5d2567ae8c69cc012ebcae30e6c9b5359d64a58d17ba75ec89f8bce71ac
      - SHA256=f813484ea441404f18caad96f28138e8aaf0cb256163c09c2ab8a3acab87f69f
      - SHA256=fc4a0802ab9c7409b892ca00636bec61e2acfc911bccfdeb9978b8ab5a2f828d
      - SHA256=083150724b49604c8765c1ba19541fa260b133be0acb0647fcd936d81f054499
      - SHA256=44303d6572956f28a0f2e4b188934fb9874f2584f5c81fa431a463cfbf28083b
      - SHA256=5d38c46032a58e28ae5f7d174d8761ec3d64d186677f3ec53af5f51afb9bfd2f
      - SHA256=e1e70fa42059911bc6685fafef957f9a73fc66f214d0704a9b932683a5204032
      - SHA256=c01356092a365b84f84f0e66870bd1a05ba3feb53cafd973fa5fea2534bee234
      - SHA256=b3f9c06151e30ee43d39e788a79cd918a314f24e04fe87f3de8272a2057b624f
      - SHA256=cd81b2792f0739f473c31c9cb7cf2313154bfa28b839975802b90e8790bb5058
      - SHA256=9ec7e6c8e1bfd883663d8d9d62c9e4f9ae373b731407181e32491b27a7218a2c
      - SHA256=c2cfd23fdc6c0e1b1ffa0e545cbe556f18d11b362b4a89ba0713f6ab01c4827f
      - SHA256=53f8adbd76c0eb16f5e43cadde422474d8a06f9c8f959389c1930042ad8beaa5
      - SHA256=648c8d2f8001c113d2986dd00b7bbd181593d462bef73522cee212c4f71f95b3
      - SHA256=ae047e2095e46c3f9c518b2be67ec753f4f0aad23b261a361fcb6144dcdb63b4
      - SHA256=3153d2baa462978dd22ab33d1c2274ecc88c200225d6a3327f98d5b752d08f5c
      - SHA256=f49cde976e628012c9db73e1c8d76081944ecf2297cdafeb78bb13290da274c4
      - SHA256=d2513e58bb03ccc83affde685c6ef987924c37ce6707d8e9857e2524b0d7e90f
      - SHA256=bb67c7623ba92fe64ffd9816b8d5b3b1ea3013960a30bd4cf6e295b3eb5b1bad
      - SHA256=b34b3c3a91e3165d1481f0b3ec23eab93a1cfba94345a6cbfe5b18ddbd48eac7
      - SHA256=f7848034e010d55f15e474ca998f96391e320ff29b00cfcc4c5e536529703e75
      - SHA256=b6fc9493778cbe3bfc062d73f5cc604bc0ff058bc5e5dc6aac87f3a4008b54b6
      - SHA256=f5c5e962577e2293c4ad10603816dce7cc273585969615fbf4e4bfa9eaff1688
      - SHA256=d14c52d9220b606f428a8fe9f7c108b0d6f14cf71e7384749e98e6a95962e68f
      - SHA256=d3a0e1a79158f3985cd49607ebe0cdfcc49cb9af96b8f43aefd0cdfe2f22e663
      - SHA256=2fbbfc8299537ff80cadf9d0e27c223fe0ccb9052bf9d8763ad717bbfa521c77
      - SHA256=19074674c6fbdaa573b3081745e5e26144fdf7a086d14e0e220d1814f1f13078
  filter_main_known_names:
    Image|endswith:
      - \cloudflared.exe
      - \cloudflared-windows-386.exe
      - \cloudflared-windows-amd64.exe
  condition: 1 of selection_* and not 1 of filter_main_*
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: e0c69ebd-b54f-4aed-8ae3-e3467843f3f0
    type: derived

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