Techniques › T1124 › AN0433
AN0433 Analytic 0433
ESXi · attack.mitre.org · ATT&CK Enterprise v19.2
<p>Interactive or remote shell/API invocation of esxcli system clock get or querying time parameters via hostd/vpxa shortly followed by time/ntp configuration checks or scheduled task creation, executed by non-standard accounts or outside maintenance windows.</p>
- Detects
- T1124 System Time Discovery
- Part of
- DET0151 Behavior-chain, platform-aware detection strategy for T1124 System Time Discovery
Log sources and channels
Exactly as MITRE states them in x_mitre_log_source_references. Where a channel is vague, it is vague in the source; kevmap does not tidy it.
| Log source | Channel | Data component |
|---|---|---|
| esxi:shell | /var/log/shell.log entries containing "esxcli system clock get" | DC0064 Command Execution |
| esxi:hostd | /var/log/hostd.log API calls reading/altering time/ntp settings | DC0034 Process Metadata |
| esxi:syslog | /var/log/vpxa.log task invocations tied to time configuration | DC0005 Scheduled Job Metadata |
Mutable elements
Parameters MITRE marks as environment-specific. These are the knobs you are expected to tune; they are why an analytic is not a rule.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
MaintenanceWindow | Only alert if outside approved ops windows. |
PrivilegedAccountsAllowList | Suppress alerts for known service accounts. |
RemoteIPAllowList | Whitelist management station IPs. |
TimeWindow | Correlation between esxcli time query and subsequent hostd/vpxa config calls. |