Detection: Rubeus Kerberos Ticket Exports Through Winlogon Access

Updated Date: 2024-09-30 ID: 5ed8c50a-8869-11ec-876f-acde48001122 Author: Mauricio Velazco, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects a process accessing the winlogon.exe system process, indicative of the Rubeus tool attempting to export Kerberos tickets from memory. This detection leverages Sysmon EventCode 10 logs, focusing on processes obtaining a handle to winlogon.exe with specific access rights. This activity is significant as it often precedes pass-the-ticket attacks, where adversaries use stolen Kerberos tickets to move laterally within an environment. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to bypass normal access controls, escalate privileges, and persist within the network, posing a severe security risk.

1`sysmon` EventCode=10 TargetImage=C:\\Windows\\system32\\winlogon.exe (GrantedAccess=0x1f3fff) (SourceImage!=C:\\Windows\\system32\\svchost.exe AND SourceImage!=C:\\Windows\\system32\\lsass.exe AND SourceImage!=C:\\Windows\\system32\\LogonUI.exe AND SourceImage!=C:\\Windows\\system32\\smss.exe AND SourceImage!=C:\\Windows\\system32\\wbem\\wmiprvse.exe) 
2| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by dest, SourceImage, SourceProcessId, TargetImage, TargetProcessId, EventCode, GrantedAccess  
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
5| `rubeus_kerberos_ticket_exports_through_winlogon_access_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source
Sysmon EventID 10 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($field$)
rubeus_kerberos_ticket_exports_through_winlogon_access_filter search *
rubeus_kerberos_ticket_exports_through_winlogon_access_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
T1550 Use Alternate Authentication Material Defense Evasion
T1550.003 Pass the Ticket Lateral Movement
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
NistCategory.DE_CM
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT29
APT32
BRONZE BUTLER

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

This search needs Sysmon Logs and a sysmon configuration, which includes EventCode 10. This search uses an input macro named sysmon. We strongly recommend that you specify your environment-specific configurations (index, source, sourcetype, etc.) for Windows Sysmon logs. Replace the macro definition with configurations for your Splunk environment.

Known False Positives

Legitimate applications may obtain a handle for winlogon.exe. Filter as needed

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
Winlogon.exe was accessed by $SourceImage$ 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: 5