AN0136: Analytic 0136
Detects firewall rule modifications or reset of logs/connection tables (e.g., `clear logging`, `erase startup-config`, `write erase`) following remote access activity on routers, switches, or VPN appliances.
Analyst context for executives and security teams
This analytic matters because changes to firewall rules or clearing device logs after remote access can remove visibility and alter network defenses at the exact moment responders need trustworthy evidence. For executives and security leaders, the practical issue is not just a network-device event; it is whether routers, switches, VPN appliances, and firewalls produce audit-quality telemetry that can show when access occurred, what changed, and whether evidence was erased.
Executive priority
Prioritize this as a resilience and evidence-readiness control for network infrastructure. Leaders should ask whether remote administrative access to network devices is logged centrally, whether configuration and rule changes are reviewed, and whether log clearing or connection-table resets generate actionable alerts. This supports incident decision-making, compliance evidence, and continuity planning because network-device tampering can weaken segmentation, remote access governance, and post-incident reconstruction.
Technical view
For SOC, detection engineering, and IR teams, validate monitoring for network devices where remote access activity is followed by firewall rule modification, log reset, connection-table clearing, or configuration erase activity. The supplied ATT&CK object specifically references routers, switches, and VPN appliances, and example command patterns such as `clear logging`, `erase startup-config`, and `write erase`. Because no official detection logic is provided, teams should derive local analytics from device administration logs, configuration-change records, command accounting, and remote access session telemetry, then correlate administrative login/session events with destructive or visibility-reducing actions.
Likely telemetry
- Network device administrative login and session logs
- AAA/TACACS+/RADIUS command accounting where available
- Firewall rule and access-control-list change logs
- Configuration change, startup-config erase, and write/erase event records
- Device syslog events for log clearing or logging subsystem reset
Detection direction
- Correlate remote administrative access to routers, switches, firewalls, or VPN appliances with subsequent rule modifications, log clearing, connection-table clearing, or configuration erase events.
- Treat log-clearing and configuration-erasure commands as high-value signals, but tune for approved maintenance windows and documented change activity to reduce false positives.
- Validate that command accounting or equivalent audit records are enabled; without them, cleared local logs may remove the primary evidence source.
- Alert on administrative actions that reduce visibility, such as clearing logs, especially when performed outside normal change windows or soon after remote access.
- Because ATT&CK provides no formal detection query for this analytic, test coverage using local device models, operating systems, log formats, and centralized collection paths.
Mitigation priorities
- Centralize network-device logs so local log clearing does not eliminate investigative evidence.
- Require authenticated, attributable administrative access for routers, switches, firewalls, and VPN appliances, with command accounting where supported.
- Implement change-control review for firewall rule modifications and configuration erase/reset actions.
- Restrict high-risk administrative commands to authorized roles and monitored maintenance workflows.
- Regularly validate that SIEM or log-management pipelines receive network-device administration and configuration-change events.
Analyst notes and limits
This is a detection analytic, not a technique description. The strongest decision value is in validating whether network infrastructure administration is observable and attributable, especially around actions that modify firewall behavior or erase evidence after remote access. No relationship context was supplied, so this take does not infer related techniques, tactics, actors, campaigns, or software.
The official object does not provide tactic mapping, detection logic, relationships, or platform detail beyond Network Devices. Local device types, command syntax, logging capability, and administrative workflows are required to implement and tune detection responsibly.
Analytic 0136
Detects firewall rule modifications or reset of logs/connection tables (e.g., `clear logging`, `erase startup-config`, `write erase`) following remote access activity on routers, switches, or VPN appliances.
How security teams should use this page
Treat this object as behavior context, not an attribution claim. Validate the related groups, software, data sources, and mitigations against official ATT&CK relationships and your own telemetry before making control-coverage decisions.
All related ATT&CK context
No relationships are available in the current normalized data for this object.
Object version and sync metadata
The fields below describe the current mirrored snapshot. When Glexia retains multiple ATT&CK source imports, you can open the table to compare the same object across releases (hashes and MITRE timestamps). For MITRE’s own release notes and roadmap, see ATT&CK resources — Updates .
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases (1)
| Release | Bundle imported | Object version | Modified | Status | Raw hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.1 | 1.0 | Current bundle | 4ece076b3dc3… |
Mirrored ATT&CK source object
The raw object is retained through the mirrored ATT&CK source bundle and object hash. The raw endpoint returns the exact object from the mirrored bundle when available.
External references and citations
MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.
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mitre-attack AN0136Open source URL
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