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PacketDetective

CyberDefenders Wireshark

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PacketDetective – Network Traffic Investigation

Scenario

In September 2020, the SOC detected suspicious activity from a user device flagged by unusual SMB protocol usage. Initial analysis indicated a possible compromise of a privileged account and remote access tool usage. Three PCAP files were provided to trace the attacker’s methods, persistence tactics, and goals. --- ## Tooling - Wireshark - Protocol Hierarchy Statistics - Conversations view

Investigation Findings

PCAP 1 – SMB Authentication and Initial Access

Protocol Analysis Using Wireshark’s Protocol Hierarchy (Statistics → Protocol Hierarchy) revealed that SMB accounted for the majority of traffic with a total of 4406 bytes transferred. Compromised Account Identification Filtering for NTLMSSP authentication:

ntlmssp.auth.username

Revealed the Administrator account authenticating from 172.16.66.37 to 172.16.66.36 — confirming a privileged account was compromised. Attacker IP: 172.16.66.37 Event Log Tampering Searching packet details for create revealed an eventlog file access attempt. The attacker attempted to clear the Windows Event Log at: 2020-09-23 16:50 UTC This is consistent with MITRE T1070.001 – Indicator Removal: Clear Windows Event Logs.

PCAP 2 – RPC Lateral Movement via Named Pipe

Named Pipe Identification

Filtering with smb && ip.addr == 172.16.66.37 and investigating RPC/DCOM traffic, expanding OxidBindings → StringBindings revealed a named pipe binding:

\\01566S-WIN16-IR[\PIPE\atsvc]

atsvc is the Windows Task Scheduler service — confirming the attacker used RPC over named pipes to interact with Task Scheduler for lateral movement (MITRE T1053.005).

Communication Duration

Using `Statistics → Conversations` and filtering `ip.addr == 172.16.66.1 && ip.addr == 172.16.66.36` the duration of communication between the two hosts was 11.7247 seconds.

PCAP 3 – Persistence and Remote Execution

Secondary Username

Filtering with

ntlmssp.auth.username

revealed a second non-standard username: 3B\backdoor — indicating the attacker established a backdoor account for persistence (MITRE T1136). Remote Execution via PsExec

Filtering with

smb2 && ip.addr == 172.16.66.1

revealed the attacker writing PSEXESVC.exe to the target — confirming use of Sysinternals PsExec for remote process execution (MITRE T1569.002).

IOCs

Type	Value
IP	172.16.66.1
IP	172.16.66.37
username	administrator
username	backdoor
file	PSEXESVC.EXE
timestamp	2020-09-23 16:50 UTC

Conclusion

The attacker compromised the Administrator account via SMB, used RPC over named pipes to interact with the Task Scheduler service, attempted to clear event logs to cover their tracks, and established persistence through a backdoor account before executing remote processes via PsExec.

The attacker’s activity showed extensive SMB protocol usage, indicating a potential pattern of significant data transfer or file access. What is the total number of bytes of the SMB protocol?

Click flag to reveal4406

Authentication through SMB was a critical step in gaining access to the targeted system. Identifying the username used for this authentication will help determine if a privileged account was compromised. Which username was utilized for authentication via SMB?

Click to reveal answeradministrator

During the attack, the adversary accessed certain files. Identifying which files were accessed can reveal the attacker's intent. What is the name of the file that was opened by the attacker?

Click flag to revealeventlog

Clearing event logs is a common tactic to hide malicious actions and evade detection. Pinpointing the timestamp of this action is essential for building a timeline of the attacker’s behavior. What is the timestamp of the attempt to clear the event log? (24-hour UTC format)

Click to reveal answer2020-09-23 16:50

The attacker used 'named pipes' for communication, suggesting they may have utilized Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) for lateral movement across the network. RPC allows one program to request services from another remotely, which could grant the attacker unauthorized access or control. What is the name of the service that communicated using this named pipe?

Click flag to revealatsvc

Measuring the duration of suspicious communication can reveal how long the attacker maintained unauthorized access, providing insights into the scope and persistence of the attack. What was the duration of communication between the identified addresses 172.16.66.1 and 172.16.66.36?

Click to reveal answer11.7247

The attacker used a non-standard username to set up requests, indicating an attempt to maintain covert access. Identifying this username is essential for understanding how persistence was established. Which username was used to set up these potentially suspicious requests?

Click flag to revealbackdoor

The attacker leveraged a specific executable file to execute processes remotely on the compromised system. Recognizing this file name can assist in pinpointing the tools used in the attack. What is the name of the executable file utilized to execute processes remotely?

Click to reveal answerPSEXESVC.exe

I successfully completed PacketDetective Blue Team Lab at @CyberDefenders! https://cyberdefenders.org/blueteam-ctf-challenges/achievements/inksec/packetdetective/

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