CertUtil Download With VerifyCtl and Split Arguments
Description
Certutil.exe may download a file from a remote destination using -VerifyCtl
. This behavior does require a URL to be passed on the command-line. In addition, -f
(force) and -split
(Split embedded ASN.1 elements, and save to files) will be used. It is not entirely common for certutil.exe
to contact public IP space. \ During triage, capture any files on disk and review. Review the reputation of the remote IP or domain in question. Using -VerifyCtl
, the file will either be written to the current working directory or %APPDATA%\..\LocalLow\Microsoft\CryptnetUrlCache\Content\<hash>
.
- Type: TTP
- Product: Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk Cloud
- Datamodel: Endpoint
- Last Updated: 2022-02-03
- Author: Michael Haag, Splunk
- ID: 801ad9e4-8bfb-11eb-8b31-acde48001122
Annotations
Kill Chain Phase
- Command and Control
NIST
- DE.CM
CIS20
- CIS 10
CVE
Search
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| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where `process_certutil` (Processes.process=*verifyctl* Processes.process=*split*) OR Processes.process=*verifyctl* by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.original_file_name Processes.parent_process Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id
| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `certutil_download_with_verifyctl_and_split_arguments_filter`
Macros
The SPL above uses the following Macros:
certutil_download_with_verifyctl_and_split_arguments_filter is a empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.
Required fields
List of fields required to use this analytic.
- _time
- Processes.dest
- Processes.user
- Processes.parent_process_name
- Processes.parent_process
- Processes.original_file_name
- Processes.process_name
- Processes.process
- Processes.process_id
- Processes.parent_process_path
- Processes.process_path
- Processes.parent_process_id
How To Implement
To successfully implement this search you need to be ingesting information on process that include the name of the process responsible for the changes from your endpoints into the Endpoint
datamodel in the Processes
node. In addition, confirm the latest CIM App 4.20 or higher is installed and the latest TA for the endpoint product.
Known False Positives
Limited false positives in most environments, however tune as needed based on parent-child relationship or network connection.
Associated Analytic Story
RBA
Risk Score | Impact | Confidence | Message |
---|---|---|---|
90.0 | 90 | 100 | An instance of $parent_process_name$ spawning $process_name$ was identified on endpoint $dest$ by user $user$ attempting to download a file. |
The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.
Reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1105/
- https://www.hexacorn.com/blog/2020/08/23/certutil-one-more-gui-lolbin/
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-R2-and-2012/cc732443(v=ws.11)#-verifyctl
- https://www.avira.com/en/blog/certutil-abused-by-attackers-to-spread-threats
Test Dataset
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 | version: 3