Detection Strategy for T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion

ID: DET0046
Domains: Enterprise
Analytics: AN0127, AN0128, AN0129
Version: 1.0
Created: 21 October 2025
Last Modified: 21 October 2025

Analytics

AN0127

Execution of discovery commands or API calls for virtualization artifacts (e.g., registry keys, device drivers, services), sleep/skipped execution behavior, or sandbox evasion DLLs before payload deployment.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Process Creation (DC0032) WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=1
Module Load (DC0016) WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=7
Mutable Elements
Field Description
TimeWindow Time range in which multiple discovery processes or sleep/delay operations are executed to avoid sandbox detonation.
KnownVMArtifactList Registry paths, DLLs, services or device names indicative of sandbox/VM environments.

AN0128

Execution of commands to enumerate virtualization-related files or processes (e.g., '/sys/class/dmi/id/product_name', dmesg, lscpu, lspci), or querying hypervisor interfaces prior to malware execution.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Process Creation (DC0032) auditd:SYSCALL execve or syscall invoking vm artifact check commands (e.g., dmidecode, lspci, dmesg)
Command Execution (DC0064) auditd:SYSCALL sleep function usage or loops (nanosleep, usleep) in scripts
Mutable Elements
Field Description
TimeWindow Duration between VM discovery commands and payload execution
CommandArtifactMatchList Command-line regex patterns indicative of sandbox evasion (e.g., grep QEMU, strings vmware)

AN0129

Execution of scripts or binaries that check for virtualization indicators (e.g., system_profiler, ioreg -l, kextstat), combined with delay functions or anomalous launchd activity.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Process Creation (DC0032) macos:unifiedlog execution of system_profiler, ioreg, kextstat with argument patterns related to VM/sandbox checks
Module Load (DC0016) macos:unifiedlog dynamic loading of sleep-related functions or sandbox detection libraries
Mutable Elements
Field Description
ProcessCommandPattern Detection regex or substring matching sandbox-related checks
SleepThreshold Maximum duration of sleep execution before alert (e.g., > 5 minutes)