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Network Share Discovery

Adversaries may look for folders and drives shared on remote systems as a means of identifying sources of information to gather as a precursor for Collection and to identify potential systems of interest for Lateral Movement. Networks often contain shared network drives and folders that enable users to access file directories on various systems across a network.

File sharing over a Windows network occurs over the SMB protocol. [1] [2] Net can be used to query a remote system for available shared drives using the net view \\remotesystem command. It can also be used to query shared drives on the local system using net share. For macOS, the sharing -l command lists all shared points used for smb services.

ID: T1135
Sub-techniques:  No sub-techniques
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Tactic: Discovery
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Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS
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Permissions Required: User
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CAPEC ID: CAPEC-643
Contributors: Praetorian
Version: 3.1
Created: 14 December 2017
Last Modified: 13 October 2021
Provided by LAYER 8

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
G0006 APT1

APT1 listed connected network shares.[3]
G0050 APT32

APT32 used the net view command to show all shares available, including the administrative shares such as C$ and ADMIN$.[4]
G0082 APT38

APT38 has enumerated network shares on a compromised host.[5]
G0087 APT39

APT39 has used the post exploitation tool CrackMapExec to enumerate network shares.[6]
G0096 APT41

APT41 used the net share command as part of network reconnaissance.[7][8]
S0640 Avaddon

Avaddon has enumerated shared folders and mapped volumes.[9]
S0638 Babuk

Babuk has the ability to enumerate network shares.[10]
S0606 Bad Rabbit

Bad Rabbit enumerates open SMB shares on internal victim networks.[11]
S0534 Bazar

Bazar can enumerate shared drives on the domain.[12]
S0570 BitPaymer

BitPaymer can search for network shares on the domain or workgroup using net view .[13]
G0114 Chimera

Chimera has used net share and net view to identify network shares of interest.[14]
S0611 Clop

Clop can enumerate network shares.[15]
S0154 Cobalt Strike

Cobalt Strike can query shared drives on the local system.[16]
S0575 Conti

Conti can enumerate remote open SMB network shares using NetShareEnum().[17][18]
S0488 CrackMapExec

CrackMapExec can enumerate the shared folders and associated permissions for a targeted network.[19]
S0625 Cuba

Cuba can discover shared resources using the NetShareEnum API call.[20]

G0105 DarkVishnya

DarkVishnya scanned the network for public shared folders.[21]
S0616 DEATHRANSOM

DEATHRANSOM has the ability to use loop operations to enumerate network resources.[22]
G0074 Dragonfly 2.0

Dragonfly 2.0 identified and browsed file servers in the victim network, sometimes , viewing files pertaining to ICS or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems.[23][24]
S0363 Empire

Empire can find shared drives on the local system.[25]
S0618 FIVEHANDS

FIVEHANDS can enumerate network shares and mounted drives on a network.[26]
S0617 HELLOKITTY

HELLOKITTY has the ability to enumerate network resources.[22]
S0260 InvisiMole

InvisiMole can gather network share information.[27]
S0250 Koadic

Koadic can scan local network for open SMB.[28]
S0236 Kwampirs

Kwampirs collects a list of network shares with the command net share.[29]
S0233 MURKYTOP

MURKYTOP has the capability to retrieve information about shares on remote hosts.[30]
S0039 Net

The net view \remotesystem and net share commands in Net can be used to find shared drives and directories on remote and local systems respectively.[31]
S0365 Olympic Destroyer

Olympic Destroyer will attempt to enumerate mapped network shares to later attempt to wipe all files on those shares.[32]
G0116 Operation Wocao

Operation Wocao has discovered network disks mounted to the system using netstat.[33]
S0165 OSInfo

OSInfo discovers shares on the network[34]
S0013 PlugX

PlugX has a module to enumerate network shares.[35]
S0192 Pupy

Pupy can list local and remote shared drives and folders over SMB.[36]
S0650 QakBot

QakBot can use net share to identify network shares for use in lateral movement.[37][38]
S0458 Ramsay

Ramsay can scan for network drives which may contain documents for collection.[39][40]

S0444 ShimRat

ShimRat can enumerate connected drives for infected host machines.[41]
G0054 Sowbug

Sowbug listed remote shared drives that were accessible from a victim.[42]
S0603 Stuxnet

Stuxnet enumerates the directories of a network resource.[43]
G0131 Tonto Team

Tonto Team has used tools such as NBTscan to enumerate network shares.[44]
S0266 TrickBot

TrickBot module shareDll/mshareDll discovers network shares via the WNetOpenEnumA API.[45][46]
G0081 Tropic Trooper

Tropic Trooper used netview to scan target systems for shared resources.[47]
S0612 WastedLocker

WastedLocker can identify network adjacent and accessible drives.[48]
G0102 Wizard Spider

Wizard Spider has used the "net view" command to locate mapped network shares.[49]
S0251 Zebrocy

Zebrocy identifies network drives when they are added to victim systems.[50]

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1028 Operating System Configuration

Enable Windows Group Policy "Do Not Allow Anonymous Enumeration of SAM Accounts and Shares" security setting to limit users who can enumerate network shares.[51]

Detection

ID Data Source Data Component
DS0017 Command Command Execution
DS0009 Process OS API Execution
Process Creation

System and network discovery techniques normally occur throughout an operation as an adversary learns the environment. Data and events should not be viewed in isolation, but as part of a chain of behavior that could lead to other activities, such as Lateral Movement, based on the information obtained.

Normal, benign system and network events related to legitimate remote system discovery may be uncommon, depending on the environment and how they are used. Monitor processes and command-line arguments for actions that could be taken to gather system and network information. Remote access tools with built-in features may interact directly with the Windows API to gather information. Information may also be acquired through Windows system management tools such as Windows Management Instrumentation and PowerShell.

References

  1. Wikipedia. (2017, April 15). Shared resource. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  2. Microsoft. (n.d.). Share a Folder or Drive. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  3. Mandiant. (n.d.). APT1 Exposing One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  4. Dahan, A. (2017). Operation Cobalt Kitty. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  5. DHS/CISA. (2020, August 26). FASTCash 2.0: North Korea's BeagleBoyz Robbing Banks. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  6. Rusu, B. (2020, May 21). Iranian Chafer APT Targeted Air Transportation and Government in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  7. Fraser, N., et al. (2019, August 7). Double DragonAPT41, a dual espionage and cyber crime operation APT41. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  8. Rostovcev, N. (2021, June 10). Big airline heist APT41 likely behind a third-party attack on Air India. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  9. Yuste, J. Pastrana, S. (2021, February 9). Avaddon ransomware: an in-depth analysis and decryption of infected systems. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  10. Sogeti. (2021, March). Babuk Ransomware. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  11. M.Léveille, M-E.. (2017, October 24). Bad Rabbit: Not‑Petya is back with improved ransomware. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  12. Pantazopoulos, N. (2020, June 2). In-depth analysis of the new Team9 malware family. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  13. Frankoff, S., Hartley, B. (2018, November 14). Big Game Hunting: The Evolution of INDRIK SPIDER From Dridex Wire Fraud to BitPaymer Targeted Ransomware. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  14. Jansen, W . (2021, January 12). Abusing cloud services to fly under the radar. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  15. Mundo, A. (2019, August 1). Clop Ransomware. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  16. Cobalt Strike. (2017, December 8). Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  17. Baskin, B. (2020, July 8). TAU Threat Discovery: Conti Ransomware. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  18. Podlosky, A., Hanel, A. et al. (2020, October 16). WIZARD SPIDER Update: Resilient, Reactive and Resolute. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  19. byt3bl33d3r. (2018, September 8). SMB: Command Reference. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  20. Roccio, T., et al. (2021, April). Technical Analysis of Cuba Ransomware. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  21. Golovanov, S. (2018, December 6). DarkVishnya: Banks attacked through direct connection to local network. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  22. McLellan, T. and Moore, J. et al. (2021, April 29). UNC2447 SOMBRAT and FIVEHANDS Ransomware: A Sophisticated Financial Threat. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  23. US-CERT. (2018, March 16). Alert (TA18-074A): Russian Government Cyber Activity Targeting Energy and Other Critical Infrastructure Sectors. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  24. US-CERT. (2017, October 20). Alert (TA17-293A): Advanced Persistent Threat Activity Targeting Energy and Other Critical Infrastructure Sectors. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  25. Schroeder, W., Warner, J., Nelson, M. (n.d.). Github PowerShellEmpire. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  26. Matthews, M. and Backhouse, W. (2021, June 15). Handy guide to a new Fivehands ransomware variant. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  1. Hromcová, Z. (2018, June 07). InvisiMole: Surprisingly equipped spyware, undercover since 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  2. Magius, J., et al. (2017, July 19). Koadic. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  3. Symantec Security Response Attack Investigation Team. (2018, April 23). New Orangeworm attack group targets the healthcare sector in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  4. FireEye. (2018, March 16). Suspected Chinese Cyber Espionage Group (TEMP.Periscope) Targeting U.S. Engineering and Maritime Industries. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  5. Savill, J. (1999, March 4). Net.exe reference. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  6. Mercer, W. and Rascagneres, P. (2018, February 12). Olympic Destroyer Takes Aim At Winter Olympics. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  7. Dantzig, M. v., Schamper, E. (2019, December 19). Operation Wocao: Shining a light on one of China’s hidden hacking groups. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  8. Symantec Security Response. (2016, September 6). Buckeye cyberespionage group shifts gaze from US to Hong Kong. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  9. Computer Incident Response Center Luxembourg. (2013, March 29). Analysis of a PlugX variant. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  10. Nicolas Verdier. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  11. Mendoza, E. et al. (2020, May 25). Qakbot Resurges, Spreads through VBS Files. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  12. Kuzmenko, A. et al. (2021, September 2). QakBot technical analysis. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  13. Sanmillan, I.. (2020, May 13). Ramsay: A cyber‑espionage toolkit tailored for air‑gapped networks. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  14. Antiy CERT. (2020, April 20). Analysis of Ramsay components of Darkhotel's infiltration and isolation network. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  15. Yonathan Klijnsma. (2016, May 17). Mofang: A politically motivated information stealing adversary. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  16. Symantec Security Response. (2017, November 7). Sowbug: Cyber espionage group targets South American and Southeast Asian governments. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  17. Nicolas Falliere, Liam O. Murchu, Eric Chien. (2011, February). W32.Stuxnet Dossier. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  18. Daniel Lughi, Jaromir Horejsi. (2020, October 2). Tonto Team - Exploring the TTPs of an advanced threat actor operating a large infrastructure. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  19. Boutin, J. (2020, October 12). ESET takes part in global operation to disrupt Trickbot. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  20. Tudorica, R., Maximciuc, A., Vatamanu, C. (2020, March 18). New TrickBot Module Bruteforces RDP Connections, Targets Select Telecommunication Services in US and Hong Kong. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  21. Alintanahin, K. (2015). Operation Tropic Trooper: Relying on Tried-and-Tested Flaws to Infiltrate Secret Keepers. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  22. Walter, J.. (2020, July 23). WastedLocker Ransomware: Abusing ADS and NTFS File Attributes. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  23. DHS/CISA. (2020, October 28). Ransomware Activity Targeting the Healthcare and Public Health Sector. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  24. Kaspersky Lab's Global Research & Analysis Team. (2018, February 20). A Slice of 2017 Sofacy Activity. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  25. Microsoft. (2017, April 19). Network access: Do not allow anonymous enumeration of SAM accounts and shares. Retrieved May 20, 2020.