Detect Remote Service Session Hijacking in Elastic Security
This detection identifies adversaries commandeering existing remote service sessions to move laterally without creating new authenticated connections. Key indicators include use of tscon.exe to hijack disconnected RDP sessions (often from SYSTEM context), SSH agent socket manipulation via SSH_AUTH_SOCK environment variable abuse, SSH ControlMaster/ControlPath multiplexing attacks, and suspicious processes accessing other users' TTY devices or SSH agent sockets in /tmp. Unlike standard remote service use, session hijacking leaves minimal authentication artifacts because no new credential exchange occurs — making it a high-fidelity signal when detected.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Lateral Movement
- Technique
- T1563 Remote Service Session Hijacking
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1563/
Elastic Detection Query
any where event.category == "process" and (
/* RDP tscon hijack */
process.name : "tscon.exe"
or (process.name : ("cmd.exe", "powershell.exe") and process.args : "*tscon*")
or /* SSH agent socket abuse */
(
process.args : ("*SSH_AUTH_SOCK*", "*/tmp/ssh-*", "*ssh-agent*")
and process.args : ("*export*", "*env*", "*printenv*", "*cat /proc*")
and not process.name : ("sshd", "ssh-agent")
)
or /* SSH ControlMaster abuse */
(
process.name : "ssh"
and process.args : ("*ControlMaster*", "*ControlPath*", "*-o ControlMaster*", "*-S /tmp*")
and not process.parent.name : ("sshd", "ansible", "fabric")
)
or /* TTY/fd hijack */
(
process.args : ("/proc/*/fd", "*/dev/pts/*", "*reptyr*", "*injcode*")
and process.args : ("/proc/[0-9]*/fd")
)
)Detects remote service session hijacking via RDP tscon.exe abuse, SSH agent socket manipulation, SSH ControlMaster/ControlPath multiplexing attacks, and TTY file descriptor hijacking targeting other users' remote sessions.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- System administrators legitimately using tscon.exe to reconnect their own disconnected RDP sessions for maintenance
- Ansible, Fabric, or other automation tools that use SSH ControlMaster multiplexing for connection efficiency
- Security tools or session recording software that reads /proc filesystem entries or uses reptyr for legitimate terminal capture
Other platforms for T1563
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 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 1RDP Session Hijacking via tscon.exe from SYSTEM context
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1 for tscon.exe with parent process chain including psexec/sc.exe. Windows Security Event 4778 (session reconnected) immediately after. Security Event 4688 for tscon.exe with SYSTEM account. Query.exe or qwinsta.exe execution preceding tscon.exe within minutes.
- Test 2SSH Agent Socket Hijacking
Expected signal: Auditd records showing open() syscall on /tmp/ssh-*/agent.* socket by a process not owned by the socket's owner. /var/log/auth.log entries showing SSH connection authenticated via agent forwarding with unexpected source process context. Linux Sysmon (if deployed) Event ID 1 for ssh process with SSH_AUTH_SOCK in environment.
- Test 3SSH ControlMaster Multiplexing Session Hijack
Expected signal: Sysmon (Linux) Event ID 1 for ssh process with -S flag and ControlMaster=no in command line. Process events showing ssh invoked with control socket path. Auth.log showing multiple SSH authentications to same host with same session multiplexed. Network events showing SSH connections reusing existing TCP connection.
References (7)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1563/
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1563/001/
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1563/002/
- https://medium.com/@networksecurity/rdp-hijacking-how-to-hijack-rds-and-remote-mstsc-sessions-transparently-2d941099b086
- https://doublepulsar.com/rdp-hijacking-how-to-hijack-rds-and-remote-mstsc-sessions-transparently-2d941099b086
- https://www.netspi.com/blog/technical/network-penetration-testing/hijacking-ssh-sessions-with-screen-and-command-injection/
- https://xorl.wordpress.com/2022/02/09/ssh-session-hijacking/
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