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# Threat Brief: SolarStorm and SUNBURST Customer Coverage

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  Published:December 14, 2020

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## SolarStorm Response With Cortex XDR

Customers running Cortex XDR Pro can leverage the product's existing alert sets and hunt for related activity.

Please note that the [Cortex XDR Managed Threat Hunting Service](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/managed-threat-hunting) scanned all data available for all XDR Pro customers -- even those who are not currently subscribed to the service -- and sent an impact report based on the findings to all XDR Pro customers.

Firstly, to understand if the organization is breached, we can search for SolarWinds installations based either on endpoint or network data using the following query, leveraging AppID and known SolarWinds domains (For updated and copy/paste-friendly versions, all queries described in this section are [available on GitHub](https://github.com/pan-unit42/iocs/tree/master/SolarStorm).):  
dataset = xdr\_data|filter arraystring(action\_app\_id\_transitions, ",") contains "solarwinds" or dst\_action\_external\_hostname = "api.solarwinds.com" or action\_external\_hostname = "api.solarwinds.com"| fields agent\_hostname, action\_local\_ip|dedup agent\_hostname, action\_local\_ip

|---------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 | dataset = xdr\_data|filter arraystring(action\_app\_id\_transitions, ",") contains "solarwinds" or dst\_action\_external\_hostname = "api.solarwinds.com" or action\_external\_hostname = "api.solarwinds.com"| fields agent\_hostname, action\_local\_ip|dedup agent\_hostname, action\_local\_ip |

![This shows how to leverage AppID and known SolarWinds domains to search for SolarWinds installations based either on endpoint or network data.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-1-1.png)

To verify if you have been a victim of the attack, assuming there is a Palo Alto Networks NGFW or an agent installed on a SolarWinds server, you can run a query to check for known IOCs.

It's possible to load known IOCs, such as IPs, domains, hashes and filenames, into XDR and it will automatically run a backwards scan, resulting in alerts on historic data.

To do this, create one file with all the IOCs:

![IOCs for SolarWinds and SolarStorm](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-2.png)

Go to the Rules → IOC page and click on "+ Add IOC" and then select "Upload File" in the popup view.

![This shows how to add SolarStorm and SolarWinds IOCs to Cortex XDR.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-3.png)

Add your file, assign a severity, reputation, reliability and expiration date, then click "Upload."

After loading, you'll see the "Backwards Scan Status" as pending and "# Of Hits" as 0. A few minutes later, you'll see the status change to "Done" with a timestamp.

If any matches were found, you'll see the "# Of Hits" change from 0 to the amount of hits the system found per IOC.

![If any matches were found, you'll see the # of Hits displayed per IOC.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-4.png)

You can right-click on the IOC and select "View Associated Alerts" to pivot to the alert page.

![You can right-click on the IOC and select "View Associated Alerts" to pivot to the alert page, as shown.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-5.png)

Whenever you see this icon ![ICON indicates historic match based on backwards scanning on an IOC or Behavioral IOC.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ICON.png) next to a rule name in XDR, it means that this is a historic match based on backwards scanning on an IOC or Behavioral IOC.

![Historic matches based on backward scanning on an IOC or Behavioral IOC appear as shown.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-6.png)

You can right-click on the alert to analyze it and drill down into it.

Vice versa, you can run an XQL query with the known IOCs. This will look across file writes, module loads, process executions, network traffic and DNS queries coming either through NGFW, Cortex Agent or any third party network traffic that is ingested into the Cortex XDR Data Lake:  
dataset = xdr\_data|filter action\_file\_sha256 in ("32519b85c0b422e4656de6e6c41878e95fd95026267daab4215ee59c107d6c77", "dab758bf98d9b36fa057a66cd0284737abf89857b73ca89280267ee7caf62f3b", "eb6fab5a2964c5817fb239a7a5079cabca0a00464fb3e07155f28b0a57a2c0ed", "c09040d35630d75dfef0f804f320f8b3d16a481071076918e9b236a321c1ea77", "ac1b2b89e60707a20e9eb1ca480bc3410ead40643b386d624c5d21b47c02917c", "019085a76ba7126fff22770d71bd901c325fc68ac55aa743327984e89f4b0134", "ce77d116a074dab7a22a0fd4f2c1ab475f16eec42e1ded3c0b0aa8211fe858d6", "a25cadd48d70f6ea0c4a241d99c5241269e6faccb4054e62d16784640f8e53bc", "d3c6785e18fba3749fb785bc313cf8346182f532c59172b69adfb31b96a5d0af", "118189f90da3788362fe85eafa555298423e21ec37f147f3bf88c61d4cd46c51") or action\_module\_sha256 in ("32519b85c0b422e4656de6e6c41878e95fd95026267daab4215ee59c107d6c77", "dab758bf98d9b36fa057a66cd0284737abf89857b73ca89280267ee7caf62f3b", "eb6fab5a2964c5817fb239a7a5079cabca0a00464fb3e07155f28b0a57a2c0ed", "c09040d35630d75dfef0f804f320f8b3d16a481071076918e9b236a321c1ea77", "ac1b2b89e60707a20e9eb1ca480bc3410ead40643b386d624c5d21b47c02917c", "019085a76ba7126fff22770d71bd901c325fc68ac55aa743327984e89f4b0134", "ce77d116a074dab7a22a0fd4f2c1ab475f16eec42e1ded3c0b0aa8211fe858d6", "a25cadd48d70f6ea0c4a241d99c5241269e6faccb4054e62d16784640f8e53bc", "d3c6785e18fba3749fb785bc313cf8346182f532c59172b69adfb31b96a5d0af", "118189f90da3788362fe85eafa555298423e21ec37f147f3bf88c61d4cd46c51") or action\_process\_image\_sha256 in ("32519b85c0b422e4656de6e6c41878e95fd95026267daab4215ee59c107d6c77", "dab758bf98d9b36fa057a66cd0284737abf89857b73ca89280267ee7caf62f3b", "eb6fab5a2964c5817fb239a7a5079cabca0a00464fb3e07155f28b0a57a2c0ed", "c09040d35630d75dfef0f804f320f8b3d16a481071076918e9b236a321c1ea77", "ac1b2b89e60707a20e9eb1ca480bc3410ead40643b386d624c5d21b47c02917c", "019085a76ba7126fff22770d71bd901c325fc68ac55aa743327984e89f4b0134", "ce77d116a074dab7a22a0fd4f2c1ab475f16eec42e1ded3c0b0aa8211fe858d6", "a25cadd48d70f6ea0c4a241d99c5241269e6faccb4054e62d16784640f8e53bc", "d3c6785e18fba3749fb785bc313cf8346182f532c59172b69adfb31b96a5d0af", "118189f90da3788362fe85eafa555298423e21ec37f147f3bf88c61d4cd46c51") or dst\_action\_external\_hostname ~= ".\*freescanonline.com|.\*deftsecurity.com|.\*thedoccloud.com|.\*websitetheme.com|.\*highdatabase.com|.\*incomeupdate.com|.\*databasegalore.com|.\*panhardware.com|.\*zupertech.com|.\*virtualdataserver.com|.\*digitalcollege.org|.\*avsvmcloud.com|.\*solartrackingsystem.net|.\*webcodez.com|.\*seobundlekit.com|.\*virtualwebdata.com|.\*lcomputers.com|.\*mobilnweb.com|.\*kubecloud.com" or action\_external\_hostname ~= ".\*freescanonline.com|.\*deftsecurity.com|.\*thedoccloud.com|.\*websitetheme.com|.\*highdatabase.com|.\*incomeupdate.com|.\*databasegalore.com|.\*panhardware.com|.\*zupertech.com|.\*virtualdataserver.com|.\*digitalcollege.org|.\*avsvmcloud.com|.\*solartrackingsystem.net|.\*webcodez.com|.\*seobundlekit.com|.\*virtualwebdata.com|.\*lcomputers.com|.\*mobilnweb.com|.\*kubecloud.com" or dns\_query\_name ~= ".\*freescanonline.com|.\*deftsecurity.com|.\*thedoccloud.com|.\*websitetheme.com|.\*highdatabase.com|.\*incomeupdate.com|.\*databasegalore.com|.\*panhardware.com|.\*zupertech.com|.\*virtualdataserver.com|.\*digitalcollege.org|.\*avsvmcloud.com|.\*solartrackingsystem.net|.\*webcodez.com|.\*seobundlekit.com|.\*virtualwebdata.com|.\*lcomputers.com|.\*mobilnweb.com|.\*kubecloud.com" | fields agent\_hostname, causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path,action\_external\_hostname, action\_file\_path, action\_module\_path, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name |dedup agent\_hostname, causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path,action\_external\_hostname, action\_file\_path, action\_module\_path, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name

|-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 | dataset = xdr\_data|filter action\_file\_sha256 in ("32519b85c0b422e4656de6e6c41878e95fd95026267daab4215ee59c107d6c77", "dab758bf98d9b36fa057a66cd0284737abf89857b73ca89280267ee7caf62f3b", "eb6fab5a2964c5817fb239a7a5079cabca0a00464fb3e07155f28b0a57a2c0ed", "c09040d35630d75dfef0f804f320f8b3d16a481071076918e9b236a321c1ea77", "ac1b2b89e60707a20e9eb1ca480bc3410ead40643b386d624c5d21b47c02917c", "019085a76ba7126fff22770d71bd901c325fc68ac55aa743327984e89f4b0134", "ce77d116a074dab7a22a0fd4f2c1ab475f16eec42e1ded3c0b0aa8211fe858d6", "a25cadd48d70f6ea0c4a241d99c5241269e6faccb4054e62d16784640f8e53bc", "d3c6785e18fba3749fb785bc313cf8346182f532c59172b69adfb31b96a5d0af", "118189f90da3788362fe85eafa555298423e21ec37f147f3bf88c61d4cd46c51") or action\_module\_sha256 in ("32519b85c0b422e4656de6e6c41878e95fd95026267daab4215ee59c107d6c77", "dab758bf98d9b36fa057a66cd0284737abf89857b73ca89280267ee7caf62f3b", "eb6fab5a2964c5817fb239a7a5079cabca0a00464fb3e07155f28b0a57a2c0ed", "c09040d35630d75dfef0f804f320f8b3d16a481071076918e9b236a321c1ea77", "ac1b2b89e60707a20e9eb1ca480bc3410ead40643b386d624c5d21b47c02917c", "019085a76ba7126fff22770d71bd901c325fc68ac55aa743327984e89f4b0134", "ce77d116a074dab7a22a0fd4f2c1ab475f16eec42e1ded3c0b0aa8211fe858d6", "a25cadd48d70f6ea0c4a241d99c5241269e6faccb4054e62d16784640f8e53bc", "d3c6785e18fba3749fb785bc313cf8346182f532c59172b69adfb31b96a5d0af", "118189f90da3788362fe85eafa555298423e21ec37f147f3bf88c61d4cd46c51") or action\_process\_image\_sha256 in ("32519b85c0b422e4656de6e6c41878e95fd95026267daab4215ee59c107d6c77", "dab758bf98d9b36fa057a66cd0284737abf89857b73ca89280267ee7caf62f3b", "eb6fab5a2964c5817fb239a7a5079cabca0a00464fb3e07155f28b0a57a2c0ed", "c09040d35630d75dfef0f804f320f8b3d16a481071076918e9b236a321c1ea77", "ac1b2b89e60707a20e9eb1ca480bc3410ead40643b386d624c5d21b47c02917c", "019085a76ba7126fff22770d71bd901c325fc68ac55aa743327984e89f4b0134", "ce77d116a074dab7a22a0fd4f2c1ab475f16eec42e1ded3c0b0aa8211fe858d6", "a25cadd48d70f6ea0c4a241d99c5241269e6faccb4054e62d16784640f8e53bc", "d3c6785e18fba3749fb785bc313cf8346182f532c59172b69adfb31b96a5d0af", "118189f90da3788362fe85eafa555298423e21ec37f147f3bf88c61d4cd46c51") or dst\_action\_external\_hostname ~= ".\*freescanonline.com|.\*deftsecurity.com|.\*thedoccloud.com|.\*websitetheme.com|.\*highdatabase.com|.\*incomeupdate.com|.\*databasegalore.com|.\*panhardware.com|.\*zupertech.com|.\*virtualdataserver.com|.\*digitalcollege.org|.\*avsvmcloud.com|.\*solartrackingsystem.net|.\*webcodez.com|.\*seobundlekit.com|.\*virtualwebdata.com|.\*lcomputers.com|.\*mobilnweb.com|.\*kubecloud.com" or action\_external\_hostname ~= ".\*freescanonline.com|.\*deftsecurity.com|.\*thedoccloud.com|.\*websitetheme.com|.\*highdatabase.com|.\*incomeupdate.com|.\*databasegalore.com|.\*panhardware.com|.\*zupertech.com|.\*virtualdataserver.com|.\*digitalcollege.org|.\*avsvmcloud.com|.\*solartrackingsystem.net|.\*webcodez.com|.\*seobundlekit.com|.\*virtualwebdata.com|.\*lcomputers.com|.\*mobilnweb.com|.\*kubecloud.com" or dns\_query\_name ~= ".\*freescanonline.com|.\*deftsecurity.com|.\*thedoccloud.com|.\*websitetheme.com|.\*highdatabase.com|.\*incomeupdate.com|.\*databasegalore.com|.\*panhardware.com|.\*zupertech.com|.\*virtualdataserver.com|.\*digitalcollege.org|.\*avsvmcloud.com|.\*solartrackingsystem.net|.\*webcodez.com|.\*seobundlekit.com|.\*virtualwebdata.com|.\*lcomputers.com|.\*mobilnweb.com|.\*kubecloud.com" | fields agent\_hostname, causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path,action\_external\_hostname, action\_file\_path, action\_module\_path, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name |dedup agent\_hostname, causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path,action\_external\_hostname, action\_file\_path, action\_module\_path, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name |

![Historic matches based on backward scanning on an IOC or Behavioral IOC appear as shown.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3495.png)

As attackers might have used different domains and hashes, we suggest hunting for behavior from the infected SolarWinds executable in addition to searching for known IOCs.

We suggest using the following queries to verify that no suspicious activity took place:

1. Look at alerts and incidents that have any SolarWinds binary attached to them or any alerts related to Cobalt Strike, as these attackers have been seen using the framework:

![Look at alerts and incidents that have any SolarWinds binary attached to them or any alerts related to Cobalt Strike](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/7a.png)

![Look at alerts and incidents that have any SolarWinds binary attached to them or any alerts related to Cobalt Strike, as these attackers have been seen using the framework.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-8-1.png)

2. Look for binary and scripting files dropped from the infected SolarWinds process:  
   dataset = xdr\_data|filter event\_type = FILE and event\_sub\_type = FILE\_WRITE and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) = "solarwinds.businesslayerhost\*.exe" and action\_file\_extension in ("dll", "exe", "sys", "msi", "scr", "ocx", "cmd", "bat", "ps1", "vba", "vbs", "com", "cpl", "bin", "vbe")| fields causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_file\_path, action\_file\_name|dedup causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_file\_name

|---------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | dataset = xdr\_data|filter event\_type = FILE and event\_sub\_type = FILE\_WRITE and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) = "solarwinds.businesslayerhost\*.exe" and action\_file\_extension in ("dll", "exe", "sys", "msi", "scr", "ocx", "cmd", "bat", "ps1", "vba", "vbs", "com", "cpl", "bin", "vbe")| fields causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_file\_path, action\_file\_name|dedup causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_file\_name |

![Look for binary and scripting files dropped from the infected SolarWinds process](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-9-1.png)

3. Look for signs of the infected SolarWinds process accessing non-SolarWinds domains:  
   dataset = xdr\_data|filter event\_type = NETWORK and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) = "solarwinds.businesslayerhost\*.exe" and action\_external\_hostname not contains "solarwinds.com" and action\_external\_hostname != "\*.local" | fields causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_remote\_ip, action\_external\_hostname|dedup causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_remote\_ip, action\_external\_hostname

|-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 | dataset = xdr\_data|filter event\_type = NETWORK and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) = "solarwinds.businesslayerhost\*.exe" and action\_external\_hostname not contains "solarwinds.com" and action\_external\_hostname != "\*.local" | fields causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_remote\_ip, action\_external\_hostname|dedup causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_remote\_ip, action\_external\_hostname |

![Look for signs of the infected SolarWinds process accessing non-SolarWinds domains](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-10-1.png)

4. Look for the infected SolarWinds process running Windows Management Instrumentation queries:  
   dataset = xdr\_data|filter event\_type = RPC\_CALL and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) = "solarwinds.businesslayerhost\*.exe" and action\_rpc\_interface\_name = "IWbemServices"|fields agent\_hostname, action\_rpc\_func\_str\_call\_fields

|---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 | dataset = xdr\_data|filter event\_type = RPC\_CALL and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) = "solarwinds.businesslayerhost\*.exe" and action\_rpc\_interface\_name = "IWbemServices"|fields agent\_hostname, action\_rpc\_func\_str\_call\_fields |

5. Look for the infected SolarWinds process modifying or creating a service:  
   dataset = xdr\_data|filter event\_type = REGISTRY and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) = "solarwinds.businesslayerhost\*.exe" and action\_registry\_key\_name = "HKEY\_LOCAL\_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\\*\\Services\\\*" | fields causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_registry\_key\_name, action\_registry\_value\_name, action\_registry\_data |dedup causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_registry\_key\_name, action\_registry\_value\_name, action\_registry\_data

|---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | dataset = xdr\_data|filter event\_type = REGISTRY and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) = "solarwinds.businesslayerhost\*.exe" and action\_registry\_key\_name = "HKEY\_LOCAL\_MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\\*\\Services\\\*" | fields causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_registry\_key\_name, action\_registry\_value\_name, action\_registry\_data |dedup causality\_actor\_process\_image\_path, actor\_process\_image\_path, agent\_hostname, action\_registry\_key\_name, action\_registry\_value\_name, action\_registry\_data |

![Look for the infected SolarWinds process modifying or creating a service.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XDR-screenshot-11-1.png)  
6\. We can hunt down backdoored DLLs which initiated network connections and look for any suspicious connection that involves DGA domains:  
dataset = xdr\_data | filter (event\_type = NETWORK or event\_type = STORY) and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) contains "solarwinds.businesslayerhost" | filter action\_external\_hostname not contains "solarwinds" and action\_external\_hostname not contains ".local" | fields agent\_hostname, agent\_id, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_external\_hostname, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name | join (dataset = xdr\_data | filter event\_sub\_type = LOAD\_IMAGE\_MODULE and action\_module\_sha256 in ("019085a76ba7126fff22770d71bd901c325fc68ac55aa743327984e89f4b0134", "32519b85c0b422e4656de6e6c41878e95fd95026267daab4215ee59c107d6c77", "ce77d116a074dab7a22a0fd4f2c1ab475f16eec42e1ded3c0b0aa8211fe858d6") and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) contains "solarwinds.businesslayerhost" | fields agent\_hostname, agent\_id, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_module\_sha256, action\_module\_path) as modules modules.actor\_process\_instance\_id = actor\_process\_instance\_id and modules.agent\_id = agent\_id | fields agent\_hostname, agent\_id, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_module\_sha256, action\_module\_path, action\_external\_hostname, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name | dedup agent\_hostname, agent\_id, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_module\_path, action\_external\_hostname, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name

|----------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | dataset = xdr\_data | filter (event\_type = NETWORK or event\_type = STORY) and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) contains "solarwinds.businesslayerhost" | filter action\_external\_hostname not contains "solarwinds" and action\_external\_hostname not contains ".local" | fields agent\_hostname, agent\_id, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_external\_hostname, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name | join (dataset = xdr\_data | filter event\_sub\_type = LOAD\_IMAGE\_MODULE and action\_module\_sha256 in ("019085a76ba7126fff22770d71bd901c325fc68ac55aa743327984e89f4b0134", "32519b85c0b422e4656de6e6c41878e95fd95026267daab4215ee59c107d6c77", "ce77d116a074dab7a22a0fd4f2c1ab475f16eec42e1ded3c0b0aa8211fe858d6") and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) contains "solarwinds.businesslayerhost" | fields agent\_hostname, agent\_id, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_module\_sha256, action\_module\_path) as modules modules.actor\_process\_instance\_id = actor\_process\_instance\_id and modules.agent\_id = agent\_id | fields agent\_hostname, agent\_id, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_module\_sha256, action\_module\_path, action\_external\_hostname, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name | dedup agent\_hostname, agent\_id, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_module\_path, action\_external\_hostname, dst\_action\_external\_hostname, dns\_query\_name |

7. Hunt based on the known backdoor named pipe:  
   dataset = xdr\_data | filter action\_file\_device\_type = 1 and action\_file\_name != null and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) contains "solarwinds.businesslayerhost" | filter action\_file\_name = "583da945-62af-10e8-4902-a8f205c72b2e" | fields agent\_hostname, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_file\_name | dedup actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_file\_name

|---------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | dataset = xdr\_data | filter action\_file\_device\_type = 1 and action\_file\_name != null and lowercase(actor\_process\_image\_name) contains "solarwinds.businesslayerhost" | filter action\_file\_name = "583da945-62af-10e8-4902-a8f205c72b2e" | fields agent\_hostname, actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_file\_name | dedup actor\_process\_instance\_id, actor\_process\_image\_name, action\_file\_name |

XDR 2.6.5, the latest release, now opens up new abilities to query Azure Active Directory (AD) audit logs to hunt for activities that the threat actor has done after gaining access and leveraging the backdoor to get credentials. You can use the following queries to hunt for such activity assuming you have configured your XDR using our [admin guide](https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/cortex/cortex-xdr/cortex-xdr-pro-admin/external-data-ingestion/ingest-authentication-logs-and-data/ingest-authentication-logs-and-data-from-azure-ad.html):

1. Hunt for Azure AD service account created or modified:  
   preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName IN ("Add service principal credentials", "Add service principal") AND result = "success" // find cases where someone adds SPNs to an account

|-------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 | preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName IN ("Add service principal credentials", "Add service principal") AND result = "success" // find cases where someone adds SPNs to an account |

2. Hunt for Azure AD application sharing with additional tenants:  
   preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName = "Update application" AND operationType="Update" and result="success" and modifiedDisplayName = "AvailableToOtherTenants" // find cases where someone grants permission to access an app from another azure ad tenant

|-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 5 | preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName = "Update application" AND operationType="Update" and result="success" and modifiedDisplayName = "AvailableToOtherTenants" // find cases where someone grants permission to access an app from another azure ad tenant |

3. Hunt for Azure AD custom unverified domain was added:  
   preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName = "Add unverified domain" AND result = "success" // find cases where someone added a custom domain to the azure ad env

|-------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 | preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName = "Add unverified domain" AND result = "success" // find cases where someone added a custom domain to the azure ad env |

4. Hunt for SSO being disabled for a domain:  
   preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName = "Disable Desktop Sso for a specific domain" AND result = "success" // remove need for SSO on desktop devices

|-------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 | preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName = "Disable Desktop Sso for a specific domain" AND result = "success" // remove need for SSO on desktop devices |

5. Hunt for domain federation settings modified:  
   preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName = "Set federation settings on domain"

|-----|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 | preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName = "Set federation settings on domain" |

6. Hunt for cases where mail permissions were added to a service principal:  
   preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName IN ("Add app role assignment to service principal", "Add delegated permission grant", "Add application" ) and modifiedPropertyNewValue ~= "(Mail.Read|Mail.ReadWrite)" and modifiedPropertyOldValue not contains "Mail.Read" // find cases where mail read was added as a permission to another account

|-------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 | preset = msft\_azure\_ad\_audit // go over azure ad audit logs | filter activityDisplayName IN ("Add app role assignment to service principal", "Add delegated permission grant", "Add application" ) and modifiedPropertyNewValue ~= "(Mail.Read|Mail.ReadWrite)" and modifiedPropertyOldValue not contains "Mail.Read" // find cases where mail read was added as a permission to another account |

These queries are also waiting in our query center for easy execution:

![These queries are waiting in the Cortex XDR query center for easy execution.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Queries.png)

(See the Appendix for IOCs, or find them [on GitHub](https://github.com/pan-unit42/iocs/blob/master/SolarStorm).)

## SolarStorm Response With Cortex XSOAR

Cortex XSOAR has launched a[rapid response playbook](https://blog.paloaltonetworks.com/security-operations/cortex-xsoar-solarstorm-sunburst/) to speed up the discovery of SolarWind installations within your network, uncover signs of a potential SolarStorm activity and automate response actions such as the quarantining of compromised endpoints.

***Continue reading: [Conclusion, Additional Resources and IOCs](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/fireeye-solarstorm-sunburst/4)***

[***Back to Top***](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/fireeye-solarstorm-sunburst/)
Back to top

### Tags

* [FireEye breach](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/fireeye-breach/ "FireEye breach")
* [SolarStorm](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/solarstorm/ "SolarStorm")
* [SolarWinds](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/solarwinds/ "SolarWinds")
* [SUNBURST](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/sunburst/ "SUNBURST")
* [TEARDROP](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/teardrop/ "TEARDROP")  
  [Threat Research Center](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com "Threat Research") [Next: PyMICROPSIA: New Information-Stealing Trojan from AridViper](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/pymicropsia/ "PyMICROPSIA: New Information-Stealing Trojan from AridViper")

### Table of Contents

* 

### Related Articles

* [Strategically Aged Domain Detection: Capture APT Attacks With DNS Traffic Trends](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/strategically-aged-domain-detection/ "article - table of contents")
* [SolarStorm Supply Chain Attack Timeline](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/solarstorm-supply-chain-attack-timeline/ "article - table of contents")
* [SUPERNOVA: A Novel .NET Webshell](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/solarstorm-supernova/ "article - table of contents")

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  [Read now ![Right arrow](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-right-arrow-withtail.svg)](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/aeternum-blockchain-c2-analysis/ "The Permanent Threat: Analyzing Aeternum’s Blockchain-Based C2 Operations and Communications")  
  ![Pictorial representation of ChainDrop, a self-propagating npm worm. An artistic depiction of a digital workspace featuring an open laptop with a red virus on the screen.](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/03_Malware_Category_1920x900-7-786x368.jpg)  
  [![category icon](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/top-threats.svg)High Profile Threats](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/category/top-cyberthreats/) August 6, 2026 [#### ChainDrop: Inside a Self-Propagating npm Worm](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/chaindrop-npm-worm-analysis/)

* [Blockchain](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/blockchain/ "blockchain")

* [ChainDrop](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/chaindrop/ "ChainDrop")

* [Claude code](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/tag/claude-code/ "Claude code")  
  [Read now ![Right arrow](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/wp-content/themes/unit42-v6/dist/images/icons/icon-right-arrow-withtail.svg)](https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/chaindrop-npm-worm-analysis/ "ChainDrop: Inside a Self-Propagating npm Worm")

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