Detection: Github Commit Changes In Master

Description

The following analytic detects direct commits or pushes to the master or main branch in a GitHub repository. It leverages GitHub logs to identify events where changes are made directly to these critical branches. This activity is significant because direct modifications to the master or main branch bypass the standard review process, potentially introducing unreviewed and harmful changes. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized code execution, security vulnerabilities, or compromised project integrity.

1`github` branches{}.name = main OR branches{}.name = master 
2|  stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by commit.commit.author.email commit.author.login commit.commit.message repository.pushed_at commit.commit.committer.date repository.full_name 
3| rename commit.author.login as user, repository.full_name as repository 
4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
5| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
6| `github_commit_changes_in_master_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source Supported App
GitHub AWS icon AWS 'aws:firehose:json' 'github' N/A

Macros Used

Name Value
github sourcetype=aws:firehose:json
github_commit_changes_in_master_filter search *
github_commit_changes_in_master_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK
+ Kill Chain Phases
+ NIST
+ CIS
- Threat Actors
ID Technique Tactic
T1199 Trusted Relationship Initial Access
KillChainPhase.DELIVERY
NistCategory.DE_AE
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT28
APT29
GOLD SOUTHFIELD
LAPSUS$
POLONIUM
Sandworm Team
Threat Group-3390
menuPass

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting Value
Disabled true
Cron Schedule 0 * * * *
Earliest Time -70m@m
Latest Time -10m@m
Schedule Window auto
Creates Risk Event True
This configuration file applies to all detections of type anomaly. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting.

Implementation

To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs related to github logs having the fork, commit, push metadata that can be use to monitor the changes in a github project.

Known False Positives

Admin can do changes directly to master branch

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
Suspicious commit by $commit.commit.author.email$ to main branch 9 30 30
The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

References

Detection Testing

Test Type Status Dataset Source Sourcetype
Validation Passing N/A N/A N/A
Unit Passing Dataset github aws:firehose:json
Integration ✅ Passing Dataset github aws:firehose:json

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range


Source: GitHub | Version: 2