Detection: Windows Vulnerable Driver Installed

Description

The following analytic detects the loading of known vulnerable Windows drivers, which may indicate potential persistence or privilege escalation attempts. It leverages Windows System service install EventCode 7045 to identify driver loading events and cross-references them with a list of vulnerable drivers. This activity is significant as attackers often exploit vulnerable drivers to gain elevated privileges or maintain persistence on a system. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code with high privileges, leading to further system compromise and potential data exfiltration. This detection is a Windows Event Log adaptation of the Sysmon driver loaded detection written by Michael Haag.

1`wineventlog_system` EventCode=7045 ServiceType="kernel mode driver" 
2| table _time dest EventCode ImagePath ServiceName ServiceType 
3| lookup loldrivers driver_name AS ImagePath OUTPUT is_driver driver_description 
4| search is_driver = TRUE  
5| `windows_vulnerable_driver_installed_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source
Windows Event Log System 7045 Windows icon Windows 'xmlwineventlog' 'XmlWinEventLog:System'

Macros Used

Name Value
wineventlog_system eventtype=wineventlog_system
windows_vulnerable_driver_installed_filter search *
windows_vulnerable_driver_installed_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
T1543.003 Windows Service Persistence
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
KillChainPhase.INSTALLATION
NistCategory.DE_CM
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT19
APT3
APT32
APT38
APT41
Agrius
Aquatic Panda
Blue Mockingbird
Carbanak
Cinnamon Tempest
Cobalt Group
DarkVishnya
Earth Lusca
FIN7
Ke3chang
Kimsuky
Lazarus Group
PROMETHIUM
TeamTNT
Threat Group-3390
Tropic Trooper
Wizard Spider

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 Notable Yes
Rule Title %name%
Rule Description %description%
Notable Event Fields user, dest
Creates Risk Event True
This configuration file applies to all detections of type TTP. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting and generate Notable Events.

Implementation

Ensure the Splunk is collecting XmlWinEventLog:System events and the EventCode 7045 is being ingested.

Known False Positives

False positives will be present. Drill down into the driver further by version number and cross reference by signer. Review the reference material in the lookup. In addition, modify the query to look within specific paths, which will remove a lot of "normal" drivers.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
Potentially vulnerable/malicious driver [$ImagePath$] has been installed on $dest$ 50 100 50
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 XmlWinEventLog:System XmlWinEventLog
Integration ✅ Passing Dataset XmlWinEventLog:System XmlWinEventLog

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: 3