This signature detects the SQLMap SQL injection tool

Hunt Hypothesis

This detection identifies active reconnaissance attempts by adversaries utilizing the SQLMap tool to probe web applications for SQL injection vulnerabilities that could lead to unauthorized data access or manipulation. Proactively hunting for this signature in Azure Sentinel is critical because early identification of automated scanning tools allows the SOC team to assess exposed endpoints and implement mitigations before attackers escalate from discovery to exploitation phases.

YARA Rule

rule SQLMap
{
	meta:
		author = "Florian Roth"
		description = "This signature detects the SQLMap SQL injection tool"
		date = "07/2014"
		score = 60
	strings:
		$s1 = "except SqlmapBaseException, ex:"
	condition:
		1 of them
}

Deployment Notes

This YARA rule can be deployed in the following contexts:

• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint — Custom indicators / advanced hunting
• Email Gateway — Attachment scanning
• File Share Monitoring — Periodic scanning of shared drives
• YARA CLI — Manual threat hunting on endpoints

This rule contains 1 string patterns in its detection logic.

• Source Rule

False Positive Guidance

Here are 5 specific false positive scenarios for the SQLMap SQL Injection Tool detection rule, along with suggested filters and exclusions:

• Scenario: Automated Vulnerability Scanning by Security Teams

  • Context: The enterprise security team runs scheduled vulnerability scans using Tenable Nessus, Qualys, or Rapid7 InsightVM. These scanners often utilize SQLMap as a backend engine to test web application endpoints for injection vulnerabilities during nightly maintenance windows.
  • Filter/Exclusion: Create an exclusion rule based on the Source IP Address of the dedicated scanning servers (e.g., 10.50.20.x) and restrict the alert generation to business hours only, or exclude traffic occurring between 02:00 and 04:00 UTC when scans are active.

• Scenario: DevOps Pipeline Integration in CI/CD

  • Context: The development team integrates SQLMap into their Jenkins, GitLab CI, or Azure DevOps pipelines to perform pre-deployment security checks on new microservices before they move to production. These jobs run automatically upon code commits or pull request merges.
  • Filter/Exclusion: Implement a filter that excludes traffic originating from the CI/CD Runner Hostnames (e.g., jenkins-runner-01, gitlab-ci-agent) and specifically targets the destination ports used by the staging environment (e.g., Port 8080 or 443 on .staging domains).

• Scenario: Database Administration and Health Checks

  • Context: The DBA team executes custom PowerShell scripts or Python automation tools that invoke SQLMap to validate connection strings, test query performance, and verify injection resilience in the Production Database Cluster. These tasks are often triggered by Windows Scheduled Tasks or **Cron jobs