ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1562.001 | Disable or Modify Tools | Defense Evasion |
T1562 | Impair Defenses | Defense Evasion |
T1112 | Modify Registry | Defense Evasion |
Detection: Disabling ControlPanel
Description
The following analytic detects registry modifications that disable the Control Panel on Windows systems. It leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model, specifically monitoring changes to the registry path "*\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel" with a value of "0x00000001". This activity is significant as it is commonly used by malware to prevent users from accessing the Control Panel, thereby hindering the removal of malicious artifacts and persistence mechanisms. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to maintain control over the infected machine and prevent remediation efforts.
Search
1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Registry WHERE (Registry.registry_path= "*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\Explorer\\NoControlPanel" Registry.registry_value_data = "0x00000001") BY _time span=1h Registry.dest Registry.user Registry.registry_path Registry.registry_key_name Registry.registry_value_name Registry.registry_value_data Registry.process_guid
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Registry)`
4| where isnotnull(registry_value_data)
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
6| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
7| `disabling_controlpanel_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sysmon EventID 12 | Windows | 'xmlwineventlog' |
'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
security_content_ctime | convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$) |
disabling_controlpanel_filter | search * |
disabling_controlpanel_filter
is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.
Annotations
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 |
Implementation
To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the registry value name, registry path, and registry value data from your endpoints. If you are using Sysmon, you must have at least version 2.0 of the offical Sysmon TA. https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/5709
Known False Positives
admin may disable this application for non technical user.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
The Windows Control Panel was disabled on $dest$ by $user$. | 25 | 50 | 50 |
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: 6