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Analyzes DNS query logs to detect data exfiltration via DNS tunneling, DGA domain communication, and covert C2 channels using entropy analysis, query volume anomalies, and subdomain length detection in SIEM platforms. Use when SOC teams need to identify DNS-based threats that bypass traditional network security controls.
npx skill4agent add mukul975/anthropic-cybersecurity-skills analyzing-dns-logs-for-exfiltrationStream:DNSdnsmathcollectionsindex=dns sourcetype="stream:dns" query_type IN ("A", "AAAA", "TXT", "CNAME", "MX")
| eval domain_parts = split(query, ".")
| eval subdomain = mvindex(domain_parts, 0, mvcount(domain_parts)-3)
| eval subdomain_str = mvjoin(subdomain, ".")
| eval subdomain_len = len(subdomain_str)
| eval tld = mvindex(domain_parts, -1)
| eval registered_domain = mvindex(domain_parts, -2).".".tld
| where subdomain_len > 50
| stats count AS queries, dc(query) AS unique_queries,
avg(subdomain_len) AS avg_subdomain_len,
max(subdomain_len) AS max_subdomain_len,
values(src_ip) AS sources
by registered_domain
| where queries > 20
| sort - avg_subdomain_len
| table registered_domain, queries, unique_queries, avg_subdomain_len, max_subdomain_len, sourcesindex=dns sourcetype="stream:dns"
| eval domain_parts = split(query, ".")
| eval sld = mvindex(domain_parts, -2)
| eval sld_len = len(sld)
| eval char_count = sld_len
| eval vowels = len(replace(sld, "[^aeiou]", ""))
| eval consonants = len(replace(sld, "[^bcdfghjklmnpqrstvwxyz]", ""))
| eval digits = len(replace(sld, "[^0-9]", ""))
| eval vowel_ratio = if(char_count > 0, vowels / char_count, 0)
| eval digit_ratio = if(char_count > 0, digits / char_count, 0)
| where sld_len > 12 AND (vowel_ratio < 0.2 OR digit_ratio > 0.3)
| stats count AS queries, dc(query) AS unique_domains, values(src_ip) AS sources
by query
| where unique_domains > 10
| sort - queriesimport math
from collections import Counter
def shannon_entropy(text):
"""Calculate Shannon entropy of a string"""
if not text:
return 0
counter = Counter(text.lower())
length = len(text)
entropy = -sum(
(count / length) * math.log2(count / length)
for count in counter.values()
)
return round(entropy, 4)
# Test with examples
normal_domain = "google" # Low entropy
dga_domain = "x8kj2m9p4qw7n" # High entropy
tunnel_subdomain = "aGVsbG8gd29ybGQ.evil.com" # Base64 encoded data
print(f"Normal: {shannon_entropy(normal_domain)}") # ~2.25
print(f"DGA: {shannon_entropy(dga_domain)}") # ~3.70
print(f"Tunnel: {shannon_entropy(tunnel_subdomain)}") # ~3.50
# Threshold: entropy > 3.5 for subdomain = likely tunneling/DGAindex=dns sourcetype="stream:dns"
| eval domain_parts = split(query, ".")
| eval check_string = mvindex(domain_parts, 0)
| eval check_len = len(check_string)
| where check_len > 8
| eval chars = split(check_string, "")
| stats count AS total_chars, dc(chars) AS unique_chars by query, src_ip, check_string, check_len
| eval entropy_estimate = log(unique_chars, 2) * (unique_chars / check_len)
| where entropy_estimate > 3.5
| stats count AS high_entropy_queries, dc(query) AS unique_queries by src_ip
| where high_entropy_queries > 50
| sort - high_entropy_queriesindex=dns sourcetype="stream:dns" earliest=-24h
| bin _time span=1h
| stats count AS queries, dc(query) AS unique_domains by src_ip, _time
| eventstats avg(queries) AS avg_queries, stdev(queries) AS stdev_queries by src_ip
| eval z_score = (queries - avg_queries) / stdev_queries
| where z_score > 3 OR queries > 5000
| sort - z_score
| table _time, src_ip, queries, unique_domains, avg_queries, z_scoreindex=dns sourcetype="stream:dns" query_type="TXT"
| stats count AS txt_queries, dc(query) AS unique_txt_domains,
values(query) AS domains by src_ip
| where txt_queries > 100
| eval suspicion = case(
txt_queries > 1000, "CRITICAL — Likely DNS tunneling",
txt_queries > 500, "HIGH — Possible DNS tunneling",
txt_queries > 100, "MEDIUM — Unusual TXT volume"
)
| sort - txt_queries
| table src_ip, txt_queries, unique_txt_domains, suspicionindex=dns sourcetype="stream:dns"
| eval query_lower = lower(query)
| where (
match(query_lower, "\.dnscat\.") OR
match(query_lower, "\.dns2tcp\.") OR
match(query_lower, "\.iodine\.") OR
match(query_lower, "\.dnscapy\.") OR
match(query_lower, "\.cobalt.*\.beacon") OR
query_type="NULL" OR
(query_type="TXT" AND len(query) > 100)
)
| stats count by src_ip, query, query_type
| sort - countindex=proxy OR index=firewall
dest IN ("1.1.1.1", "1.0.0.1", "8.8.8.8", "8.8.4.4",
"9.9.9.9", "149.112.112.112", "208.67.222.222")
dest_port=443
| stats sum(bytes_out) AS total_bytes, count AS connections by src_ip, dest
| where connections > 100 OR total_bytes > 10485760
| eval alert = "Possible DoH bypass — DNS queries sent over HTTPS to public resolver"
| sort - total_bytesindex=dns src_ip="192.168.1.105" query="*.evil-tunnel.com" earliest=-24h
| stats count AS dns_queries, earliest(_time) AS first_query, latest(_time) AS last_query
by src_ip, query
| join src_ip [
search index=sysmon EventCode=3 DestinationPort=53 Computer="WORKSTATION-042"
| stats count AS connections, values(Image) AS processes by SourceIp
| rename SourceIp AS src_ip
]
| table src_ip, query, dns_queries, first_query, last_query, processesindex=dns src_ip="192.168.1.105" query="*.evil-tunnel.com" earliest=-24h
| eval domain_parts = split(query, ".")
| eval encoded_data = mvindex(domain_parts, 0)
| eval encoded_bytes = len(encoded_data)
| eval decoded_bytes = encoded_bytes * 0.75 -- Base64 decoding factor
| stats sum(decoded_bytes) AS total_bytes_estimated, count AS total_queries,
earliest(_time) AS first_seen, latest(_time) AS last_seen
| eval estimated_kb = round(total_bytes_estimated / 1024, 1)
| eval estimated_mb = round(total_bytes_estimated / 1048576, 2)
| eval duration_hours = round((last_seen - first_seen) / 3600, 1)
| eval rate_kbps = round(estimated_kb / (duration_hours * 3600) * 8, 2)
| table total_queries, estimated_mb, duration_hours, rate_kbps, first_seen, last_seen| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| DNS Tunneling | Technique encoding data within DNS queries/responses to exfiltrate data or establish C2 channels through DNS |
| DGA | Domain Generation Algorithm — malware technique generating pseudo-random domain names for C2 resilience |
| Shannon Entropy | Mathematical measure of randomness in a string — high entropy (>3.5) in domain names indicates DGA or tunneling |
| TXT Record Abuse | Using DNS TXT records (designed for text data) as a high-bandwidth channel for data tunneling |
| DNS over HTTPS (DoH) | DNS queries encrypted over HTTPS (port 443), bypassing traditional DNS monitoring |
| Passive DNS | Historical record of DNS resolutions showing which IPs a domain resolved to over time |
DNS EXFILTRATION ANALYSIS — WORKSTATION-042
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Period: 2024-03-14 to 2024-03-15
Source: 192.168.1.105 (WORKSTATION-042, Finance Dept)
Findings:
[CRITICAL] DNS tunneling detected to evil-tunnel[.]com
Query Volume: 12,847 queries in 18 hours
Avg Subdomain Len: 63 characters (normal: <20)
Avg Entropy: 3.82 (threshold: 3.5)
Query Types: TXT (89%), A (11%)
Estimated Data: ~4.7 MB exfiltrated via DNS
Rate: 0.58 kbps (slow drip pattern)
[HIGH] DGA-like domains resolved
Unique DGA Domains: 247 domains resolved
Pattern: 15-char random alphanumeric.xyz TLD
Entropy Range: 3.6 - 4.1
Process Attribution:
Process: svchost_update.exe (masquerading — not legitimate svchost)
PID: 4892
Parent: explorer.exe
Hash: SHA256: a1b2c3d4... (VT: 34/72 malicious — Cobalt Strike beacon)
Containment:
[DONE] Host isolated via EDR
[DONE] Domain evil-tunnel[.]com added to DNS sinkhole
[DONE] Incident IR-2024-0448 created