Detect Abuse of Inter-Process Communication (T1559)

ID: DET0493
Domains: Enterprise
Analytics: AN1357, AN1358, AN1359
Version: 1.0
Created: 21 October 2025
Last Modified: 21 October 2025

Analytics

AN1357

Detects anomalous use of COM, DDE, or named pipes for execution. Correlates creation or access of IPC mechanisms (e.g., named pipes, COM objects) with unusual parent-child process relationships or code injection patterns (e.g., Office spawning cmd.exe via DDE).

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Process Access (DC0035) WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4656
Named Pipe Metadata (DC0048) WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=17
Mutable Elements
Field Description
PipeNamePattern Environment-specific pipe names used legitimately vs anomalous (e.g., \\.\pipe\svcctl).
AllowedParentChildPairs Expected parent-child process lineage to minimize false positives (e.g., explorer.exe spawning outlook.exe).

AN1358

Detects abuse of UNIX domain sockets, pipes, or message queues for unauthorized code execution. Correlates unexpected socket creation with suspicious binaries, abnormal shell pipelines, or injected processes establishing IPC channels.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Process Creation (DC0032) auditd:SYSCALL socket: Suspicious creation of AF_UNIX sockets outside expected daemons
File Access (DC0055) auditd:SYSCALL open: Access to named pipes or FIFO in /tmp or /dev/shm by unexpected processes
Mutable Elements
Field Description
SocketPathBaseline Expected UNIX socket paths used by system services and applications.
FIFOAccessPatterns Legitimate processes expected to open pipes in shared directories.

AN1359

Detects anomalous use of Mach ports, Apple Events, or XPC services for inter-process execution or code injection. Focuses on unexpected processes attempting to send privileged Apple Events (e.g., automation scripts injecting into security-sensitive apps).

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Process Access (DC0035) macos:unifiedlog Unusual Mach port registration or access attempts between unrelated processes
Script Execution (DC0029) macos:osquery exec: Unexpected execution of osascript or AppleScript targeting sensitive apps
Mutable Elements
Field Description
AllowedAppleEventTargets Whitelisted app-to-app Apple Event communications (e.g., Finder automation).
MachPortBaseline Baseline of Mach ports and XPC services normally used in the environment.