XDRInternals Unleashed: Automate Device Actions & Non-Interactive Live Response at Scale + Video

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Introduction:

Security operations centers (SOCs) often struggle with the limitations of native API endpoints, particularly when trying to automate response actions across diverse endpoints. The recent announcement from Nathan McNulty regarding updates to XDRInternals marks a significant shift, introducing support for all device actions available in the portal alongside non-interactive live response capabilities. This development effectively bridges the gap between manual console workflows and fully automated security orchestration, allowing analysts to execute complex remediation tasks across up to 50 devices simultaneously without the need for interactive sessions.

Learning Objectives:

  • Automate security operations by leveraging XDRInternals to execute all native device actions via API calls.
  • Implement non-interactive live response scripts to run commands across multiple endpoints concurrently.
  • Utilize cross-platform commands (Windows/Linux) to enhance incident response and threat hunting workflows.

You Should Know:

  1. Understanding the XDRInternals Advantage Over Native Defender APIs
    Microsoft’s native Defender APIs, while powerful, often limit automation to a subset of available actions found within the portal. XDRInternals abstracts these limitations by providing a unified interface that supports the full range of device actions—such as isolation, app restriction, and antivirus scanning—directly via API. This extended functionality allows security teams to integrate comprehensive response playbooks into their existing SIEM or SOAR platforms without needing to manually log into the console for complex actions.

Step-by-Step Guide:

To utilize these extended actions, you must first authenticate with the XDRInternals platform. Typically, this involves generating an API key with appropriate permissions.

  • Authentication Example (Python): 
    import requests</li>
</ul>

api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
headers = {
"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}",
"Content-Type": "application/json"
}

Example: Isolate a device
device_id = "DEVICE_ID"
url = f"https://api.xdrinternals.com/v1/actions/isolate"
payload = {"device_id": device_id, "comment": "Incident Response Isolation"}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
print(response.json())
    • Available Actions: Common actions include isolate, release, run_antivirus_scan, stop_and_quarantine_file, and collect_investigation_package. Verify the endpoint documentation for the full list.
    1. Non-Interactive Live Response: Scaling Commands to 50 Devices
      Traditional live response sessions require analysts to initiate a shell on one device at a time, which is inefficient during widespread incidents. Non-interactive live response allows you to pre-define scripts or commands and deploy them to a batch of endpoints. This is crucial for executing rapid containment measures or gathering forensic data across the fleet instantly.

    Step-by-Step Guide:

    1. Prepare a Command Script: Create a list of commands you wish to run. For Windows, this might be PowerShell commands; for Linux, standard shell commands.
    2. Send to Batch: Use the XDRInternals API to send the command payload to a list of device IDs.
    3. Retrieve Results: Collect the output logs via API for analysis.
    • Bash/PowerShell (via API): 
      import requests
import json</li>
</ul>

api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}

devices = ["device_id_1", "device_id_2", "...up to 50"]
commands = ["whoami", "ipconfig /all", "netstat -an"]

Non-interactive live response payload
payload = {
"device_ids": devices,
"commands": commands,
"timeout": 60
}

url = "https://api.xdrinternals.com/v1/live_response/batch"
response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
print(json.dumps(response.json(), indent=2))

      3. Automating Windows Forensic Collection via Live Response

      When responding to a security incident, speed is critical. Non-interactive live response enables the automation of forensic triage. You can run commands to collect running processes, network connections, and scheduled tasks across multiple Windows machines without waiting for a user to be logged in.

      Step-by-Step Guide:

      1. Craft PowerShell Commands: Encapsulate your forensic collection into PowerShell snippets.
      2. Execute Batch: Send these snippets via the XDRInternals API.
      3. Log Analysis: Aggregate the returned data into a centralized logging system.
      • Common Windows Commands:
        – `Get-Process | Export-Csv -Path C:\temp\processes.csv -NoTypeInformation`
        – `Get-ScheduledTask | Where-Object State -eq “Running” | Select-Object TaskName, TaskPath`
        – `Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName=’Security’; ID=4625} -MaxEvents 50`

      4. Linux Command Execution for Threat Hunting

      For Linux-based endpoints, the same non-interactive methodology applies. Analysts can deploy scripts to check for persistence mechanisms, unauthorized users, or specific indicators of compromise (IoCs) across large fleets.

      Step-by-Step Guide:

      1. Prepare Linux Commands: Use standard bash utilities to gather intelligence.
      2. Push Commands: Use the API to send these commands to target Linux devices.
      3. Correlate Output: Parse the text output to identify compromised hosts.
      • Essential Linux Commands:
        – `lastlog` (Check last login times)
        – `crontab -l` (List user cron jobs)
        – `ss -tuln` (List listening ports)
        – `grep -r “malicious_string” /var/www/html` (Search for webshells)

      5. Integrating with Cloud Hardening and SOAR Workflows

      The ability to perform all device actions programmatically allows for seamless integration with cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools. If a misconfiguration is detected in Azure or AWS, a SOAR playbook can automatically call XDRInternals to isolate the affected VM or server immediately.

      Step-by-Step Guide:

      1. Trigger: A cloud monitoring tool detects an exposed port or anomaly.
      2. Logic: The SOAR platform (e.g., Logic Apps, Sentinel, or custom Python) processes the alert.
      3. Action: The platform uses the XDRInternals API to isolate the endpoint, preventing lateral movement until the issue is resolved.
      • API Security Note: Ensure API keys are stored in a secure vault (e.g., Azure Key Vault) and rotated regularly to prevent credential leakage.

      6. Mitigation Strategies and Vulnerability Exploitation Context

      While this tool enhances defensive capabilities, it also highlights the critical need for secure API management. If an attacker were to compromise an API key with permissions for live response, they could execute arbitrary commands on endpoints. Therefore, implementing strict Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and monitoring logs for anomalous API usage is paramount.

      Step-by-Step Guide:

      1. Audit Permissions: Regularly review which users and services have access to the XDRInternals API.
      2. Monitor Logs: Set up alerts for high-volume batch commands or unusual command patterns (e.g., attempts to dump credentials).
      3. Network Segmentation: Ensure that the API endpoint is only accessible from trusted IP ranges (if supported) to reduce the attack surface.

      What Undercode Say:

      • Key Takeaway 1: XDRInternals democratizes advanced automation by providing parity between portal actions and API capabilities, effectively removing a major bottleneck in incident response.
      • Key Takeaway 2: Non-interactive live response is a game-changer for scale; it transforms security operations from a reactive, device-by-device process to a proactive, fleet-wide orchestration model.

      The introduction of these features represents a maturation of the XDR ecosystem. By enabling “all device actions” via API, security teams can now construct highly sophisticated, automated response playbooks that were previously impossible without custom scripting that attempted to simulate UI clicks. The non-interactive live response capability is particularly potent, allowing for the rapid deployment of countermeasures or forensic collection across hundreds of endpoints in minutes rather than hours. However, with great power comes great responsibility; organizations must immediately audit their API security posture to ensure these new capabilities do not become an unmonitored backdoor for malicious actors. The shift toward API-driven security operations is accelerating, and tools like XDRInternals are setting the standard for what integrated, scalable security response should look like.

      Prediction:

      As non-interactive live response becomes standard, we will likely see a shift in SOC architecture where “responders” are replaced by “automation engineers” who script complex incident response playbooks. The reliance on manual SSH or RDP sessions for triage will diminish, forcing a reevaluation of compliance and audit controls to ensure automated actions are properly logged and authorized. Furthermore, this capability will pressure EDR vendors to standardize their batch-action APIs, leading to a more unified industry approach to automated remediation.

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