ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1562.001 | Disable or Modify Tools | Defense Evasion |
T1562 | Impair Defenses | Defense Evasion |
Detection: Windows Excessive Disabled Services Event
Description
The following analytic identifies an excessive number of system events where services are modified from start to disabled. It leverages Windows Event Logs (EventCode 7040) to detect multiple service state changes on a single host. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to disable security applications or other critical services, potentially leading to defense evasion or destructive actions. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to disable security defenses, disrupt system operations, and achieve their objectives on the compromised system.
Search
1`wineventlog_system` EventCode=7040 "disabled"
2| stats count values(EventData_Xml) as MessageList dc(EventData_Xml) as MessageCount min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by Computer EventCode UserID
3| rename Computer as dest
4| where count >=10
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
6| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
7| `windows_excessive_disabled_services_event_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Event Log System 7040 | Windows | 'xmlwineventlog' |
'XmlWinEventLog:System' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
security_content_ctime | convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$) |
windows_excessive_disabled_services_event_filter | search * |
windows_excessive_disabled_services_event_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 Service name, Service File Name Service Start type, and Service Type from your endpoints.
Known False Positives
Unknown
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
An excessive number (Count - $MessageCount$) of Windows services were disabled on dest - $dest$. | 81 | 90 | 90 |
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: 4