| name | hunting-for-cobalt-strike-beacons |
| description | Detect Cobalt Strike beacon command-and-control traffic using default TLS certificate signatures (serial 8BB00EE), JA3/JA3S/JARM fingerprints, HTTP malleable C2 profile pattern matching, and beacon jitter/interval analysis, built with Zeek network logs, Suricata IDS rules, and Python PCAP analysis. Use when hunting for Cobalt Strike beacon callbacks in network traffic or building detection rules for this C2 framework. |
| domain | cybersecurity |
| subdomain | threat-hunting |
| tags | ["cobalt-strike","beacon","threat-hunting","c2","zeek","suricata","ja3","jarm","network-forensics"] |
| version | 1.0 |
| author | mahipal |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| nist_csf | ["DE.CM-01","DE.AE-02","DE.AE-07","ID.RA-05"] |
| mitre_attack | ["T1046","T1057","T1082","T1083","T1071"] |
Hunting for Cobalt Strike Beacons
Overview
Cobalt Strike is the most prevalent command-and-control framework used by both red teams and threat actors. Beacon, its primary payload, communicates with team servers using configurable HTTP/HTTPS/DNS profiles that can mimic legitimate traffic. However, default configurations and behavioral patterns remain detectable through TLS certificate analysis (default serial 8BB00EE), JA3/JA3S fingerprinting, beacon interval jitter analysis, and HTTP malleable profile pattern matching. This skill covers building detection capabilities using Zeek network logs, Suricata IDS rules, and Python-based PCAP analysis to identify beacon callbacks in network traffic.
When to Use
- When investigating security incidents that require hunting for cobalt strike beacons
- When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
- When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
- When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques
Prerequisites
- Zeek 6.0+ with JA3 and HASSH packages installed
- Suricata 7.0+ with Emerging Threats ruleset
- Python 3.9+ with scapy and dpkt libraries
- Network traffic captures (PCAP) or live Zeek logs
- RITA (Real Intelligence Threat Analytics) for beacon scoring
- Threat intelligence feeds with known Cobalt Strike IOCs
Steps
Step 1: TLS Certificate Analysis
Detect default Cobalt Strike certificates using JA3S fingerprints, certificate serial numbers, and JARM fingerprints in Zeek ssl.log.
Step 2: Beacon Interval Analysis
Analyze connection timing patterns to identify regular callback intervals with configurable jitter, characteristic of beacon behavior.
Step 3: HTTP Profile Detection
Match HTTP request patterns (URI paths, headers, user-agents) against known malleable C2 profiles.
Step 4: Correlate and Score
Combine multiple indicators (TLS + timing + HTTP profile) into a composite beacon confidence score.
Expected Output
JSON report containing detected beacon candidates with confidence scores, TLS fingerprints, timing analysis, HTTP profile matches, and recommended response actions.
