o1-high vs o4-mini-low KQL Benchmark

On a Windows host, an attacker leveraged COMSVCS.DLL via rundll32.exe to dump the memory of svchost.exe into a file under the Temp directory. Review the file creation logs to determine the exact name of the dump file that was generated.

Using Windows process event logs, investigate PowerShell activity around lsass.exe memory capture. What was the name of the script file invoked to perform the dump?

On a Linux host, a ping command was executed to test internet connectivity. Determine which IP address was used as the ping target.

On a Windows endpoint, look for evidence of a base64-encoded PowerShell payload execution. Which executable launched the encoded command?

In a Linux environment, you observe a process labeled like the cron daemon but running from an unexpected path. Investigate creation events to uncover the actual filename used by this fake cron process.

Windows process creation logs show a PowerShell-driven file transfer to an FTP service. Which executable was leveraged to perform this exfiltration?

Investigate Windows process events for PowerShell activity that leverages WMI to register a scheduled task via XML import. What was the name of the XML file supplied to the RegisterByXml method?

On a Windows host, investigate process events to find when Task Manager was launched via cmd with an unusual flag. What was the full command executed?

On a Windows host, find any scheduled task that was registered using PowerShell native cmdlets instead of schtasks.exe. What was the name given to the new task?

An analyst suspects that a restricted shell escape was executed using a common Perl package manager on Linux. Review the process execution records to determine which tool was invoked to spawn the shell.

A malicious actor may attempt to list running processes on a Windows machine using a WMI-based command. Review the process creation events to find out which utility was invoked to perform this enumeration.

On a Linux host, identify the process invocation that altered a user’s login shell. What was the full command used?

Review recent Windows process event logs for PowerShell activity that suggests local group enumeration through WMI. What exact command was executed?

On a Linux endpoint, process events reveal a chain of group‐enumeration utilities executed by a single session. Which utility was used to query the system’s group database?

A Linux host executed a native utility to overwrite and then remove a temporary file in one step. Identify the name of the file that was securely deleted by this action.

While reviewing Windows process events, you observe a command that recursively deleted a folder under the temporary directory. Use the process event data to identify which process or tool executed this recursive delete.

Suspiciously, the recycle bin appears empty system-wide. Determine which command was executed on Windows to clear the system's recycle bin directory, including any switches and environment variables.

On a Linux device, a file was silently removed from the /tmp/victim-files directory. Search through file event or syslog records to identify the exact file name that was deleted.

On a Linux system, attackers may use timestamp manipulation to hide malicious changes. Investigate relevant logs to identify which file’s modification timestamp was altered by such a command.

A suspicious actor appears to have removed the USN change journal on a Windows workstation. Investigate process start records to find out exactly which command was used to delete the journal. What was the full command line invoked?

On a Linux endpoint, a command was executed to start a proxy service commonly used for onion routing. Identify the name of the service that was launched to enable this proxy functionality.

A Windows host logs a change to the Terminal Server registry key disabling single-session per user. Which command-line utility executed this registry modification?

Evidence shows that the Windows Defender startup entry was tampered with via an elevated command prompt. Investigate registry events related to the Run key to discover which executable replaced the default SecurityHealth value. What is the name of the new program?

A user‐space process on a Linux device invoked a shell to capture and display the system’s environment variables and path. Which exact command was used to perform this discovery?

A Windows host recorded a process that simply executes the system’s native time utility. Without spelling out the query, determine which command was run based on process creation events.