Detection: Windows Modify Registry With MD5 Reg Key Name

Description

The following analytic detects potentially malicious registry modifications characterized by MD5-like registry key names. It leverages the Endpoint data model to identify registry entries under the SOFTWARE path with 32-character hexadecimal names, a technique often used by NjRAT malware for fileless storage of keylogs and .DLL plugins. This activity is significant as it can indicate the presence of NjRAT or similar malware, which can lead to unauthorized data access and persistent threats within the environment. If confirmed malicious, attackers could maintain persistence and exfiltrate sensitive information.

 1
 2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly`  count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Registry where  Registry.registry_path = "*\\SOFTWARE\\*" Registry.registry_value_data = "Binary Data" by Registry.dest Registry.user Registry.registry_path Registry.registry_value_name Registry.registry_value_data Registry.registry_key_name 
 3| `drop_dm_object_name(Registry)` 
 4| eval dropped_reg_path = split(registry_path, "\\") 
 5| eval dropped_reg_path_split_count = mvcount(dropped_reg_path) 
 6| eval validation_result= if(match(registry_value_name,"^[0-9a-fA-F]{32}$"),"md5","nonmd5") 
 7| where validation_result = "md5" AND dropped_reg_path_split_count <= 5 
 8| table dest user registry_path registry_value_name registry_value_data registry_key_name reg_key_name dropped_reg_path_split_count validation_result 
 9| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
10| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
11| `windows_modify_registry_with_md5_reg_key_name_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source
Sysmon EventID 12 Windows icon Windows 'xmlwineventlog' 'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational'
Sysmon EventID 13 Windows icon Windows 'xmlwineventlog' 'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational'

Macros Used

Name Value
security_content_ctime convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)
windows_modify_registry_with_md5_reg_key_name_filter search *
windows_modify_registry_with_md5_reg_key_name_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
T1112 Modify Registry Defense Evasion
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
NistCategory.DE_CM
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT19
APT32
APT38
APT41
Aquatic Panda
Blue Mockingbird
Dragonfly
Earth Lusca
Ember Bear
FIN8
Gamaredon Group
Gorgon Group
Indrik Spider
Kimsuky
LuminousMoth
Magic Hound
Patchwork
Saint Bear
Silence
TA505
Threat Group-3390
Turla
Volt Typhoon
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

To successfully implement this search you need to be ingesting information on process that include the name of the Filesystem responsible for the changes from your endpoints into the Endpoint datamodel in the Filesystem node.

Known False Positives

unknown

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
A md5 registry value name $registry_value_name$ is created on $dest$ 36 60 60
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:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational XmlWinEventLog
Integration ✅ Passing Dataset XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational 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