Detect Databases in Sumo Logic CSE
Adversaries may leverage databases to mine valuable information. These databases may be hosted on-premises or in the cloud (both in platform-as-a-service and software-as-a-service environments). Examples of databases from which information may be collected include MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Amazon Relational Database Service, Azure SQL Database, Google Firebase, and Snowflake. Databases may include a variety of information of interest to adversaries, such as usernames, hashed passwords, personally identifiable information, and financial data. Threat actors including Sandworm Team, FIN6, Sea Turtle, and UNC5537 have leveraged database administration tools such as Adminer, mysqldump, and sqlcmd to extract schema definitions, user credentials, and bulk records. Data collected from databases may be used for Lateral Movement, Command and Control, or Exfiltration, and may be used to extort victims or sold for profit.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Collection
- Technique
- T1213 Data from Information Repositories
- Sub-technique
- T1213.006 Databases
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1213/006/
Sumo Detection Query
_sourceCategory=*windows*sysmon* OR _sourceCategory=*endpoint*
| where EventID = 1
| parse field=Image "*" as process_image nodrop
| parse field=ParentImage "*" as parent_image nodrop
| parse field=CommandLine "*" as command_line nodrop
| eval image_lower = toLowerCase(process_image)
| eval parent_lower = toLowerCase(parent_image)
| eval cmd_lower = toLowerCase(command_line)
| eval is_dump_tool = if(matches(image_lower, ".*?(mysqldump|pg_dump|pg_dumpall|mongodump|sqlite3)(\.exe)?$"), 1, 0)
| eval is_db_client = if(matches(image_lower, ".*?(\\\\)(mysql|sqlcmd|psql|mongo|mongosh|osql|bcp|isql)(\.exe)?$"), 1, 0)
| eval is_webserver_parent = if(matches(parent_lower, ".*?(w3wp|php-cgi|php|httpd|nginx|tomcat|java)(\.exe)?$"), 1, 0)
| eval is_suspicious_script_parent = if(matches(parent_lower, ".*?(wscript|cscript|mshta|rundll32|regsvr32)(\.exe)?$"), 1, 0)
| eval has_bulk_flag = if(
matches(cmd_lower, ".*(--all-databases|--databases|into outfile|into dumpfile|select \\* from|-e\s+.{0,10}select|-q\s+.{0,10}select).*"), 1, 0
)
| where is_dump_tool = 1
OR (is_db_client = 1 AND is_webserver_parent = 1)
OR (is_db_client = 1 AND has_bulk_flag = 1)
OR (is_db_client = 1 AND is_suspicious_script_parent = 1)
| eval detection_type = if(is_dump_tool = 1 AND is_webserver_parent = 1, "WebShellDumpToolExecution",
if(is_dump_tool = 1, "DatabaseDumpToolExecution",
if(is_db_client = 1 AND is_webserver_parent = 1, "WebShellDatabaseClientAccess",
if(is_db_client = 1 AND is_suspicious_script_parent = 1, "ScriptEngineSpawnedDBClient",
if(is_db_client = 1 AND has_bulk_flag = 1, "BulkDatabaseExtraction", "DatabaseCollectionActivity")
)
)
)
)
| eval risk_score = is_dump_tool + is_webserver_parent + is_suspicious_script_parent + has_bulk_flag
| fields _messageTime, ComputerName, User, process_image, command_line, parent_image, detection_type, risk_score, is_webserver_parent, has_bulk_flag, is_suspicious_script_parent
| sort by risk_score desc, _messageTime descSumo Logic query targeting Sysmon EventID 1 process creation events to detect database data collection activity. Evaluates four detection dimensions: dump tool execution, database clients spawned by web servers (webshell-driven access), clients with bulk extraction flags, and clients launched by scripting engines. Computes a composite risk score and classifies each event into a labelled detection type.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Database reliability engineers running mysqldump or pg_dumpall manually for point-in-time snapshots during incident response or capacity planning exercises
- Web application frameworks such as Laravel Artisan or Django management commands that shell out to psql or mysql for migrate or dbshell commands, spawned from PHP or Java web server worker processes
- Data engineering pipelines that use bcp or sqlcmd with inline SELECT queries to export data into CSV files for analytics, commonly seen in ETL environments
Other platforms for T1213.006
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1MySQL Full Database Dump via mysqldump
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with Image=mysqldump.exe, CommandLine containing '--all-databases' and '-p'. Sysmon Event ID 3: Network Connection to 127.0.0.1:3306 (or configured MySQL port). Sysmon Event ID 11: File Create for %TEMP%\db_dump_test.sql. Security Event ID 4688 (if command-line auditing enabled) with same process details.
- Test 2SQL Server Schema and User Enumeration via sqlcmd
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with Image=sqlcmd.exe, CommandLine containing '-Q' and 'SELECT' and '-S'. Sysmon Event ID 3: Network Connection to localhost:1433. Sysmon Event ID 11: File Create for %TEMP%\sql_enum_test.txt. PowerShell ScriptBlock Logging will not capture this as it is a native executable.
- Test 3PostgreSQL Database Export via pg_dump
Expected signal: Auditd process execution event for pg_dump with arguments. Syslog entry from PostgreSQL server: connection received from 127.0.0.1, authentication succeeded for user 'postgres'. Network socket activity on TCP 5432. File creation of /tmp/pg_dump_test.backup. If Sysmon for Linux is deployed: Event ID 1 with Image=pg_dump and full CommandLine.
- Test 4Simulated Adminer Webshell Database Access (PowerShell Mimicry)
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with Image=mysql.exe, ParentImage=powershell.exe (in production this would be w3wp.exe or php.exe). CommandLine contains '-e' and 'SELECT'. Sysmon Event ID 3: Network connection to 127.0.0.1:3306 from mysql.exe.
References (10)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1213/006/
- https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/unc5537-snowflake-data-theft-extortion
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/fin6-cybercrime-group-expands-threat-financial-sector
- https://www.welivesecurity.com/en/eset-research/evasive-panda-apt-group-targets-china-leveled-government-agencies/
- https://hunt.io/blog/sea-turtle-cyberattack-targets-dutch-it-and-telecom-companies
- https://www.anssi.fr/en/actualite-de-lANSSI/sandworm-intrusion-set-campaign-targeting-centreon-systems
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/threat-detection-overview
- https://docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/access-history
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1213.006/T1213.006.md
- https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/database-content-discovery-via-adminer.html
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