ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1112 | Modify Registry | Defense Evasion |
Detection: Windows Modify Registry USeWuServer
Description
The following analytic detects a suspicious modification to the Windows Update configuration registry key "UseWUServer." It leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model to identify changes where the registry value is set to "0x00000001." This activity is significant because it is commonly used by adversaries, including malware like RedLine Stealer, to bypass detection mechanisms and potentially exploit zero-day vulnerabilities. If confirmed malicious, this modification could allow attackers to evade defenses, persist on the target host, and deploy additional malicious payloads.
Search
1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Registry where Registry.registry_path="*\\SOFTWARE\\Policies\\Microsoft\\Windows\\WindowsUpdate\\AU\\UseWUServer" AND Registry.registry_value_data="0x00000001" by Registry.dest Registry.user Registry.registry_path Registry.registry_value_data Registry.registry_key_name
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Registry)`
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
6| `windows_modify_registry_usewuserver_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($field$) |
windows_modify_registry_usewuserver_filter | search * |
windows_modify_registry_usewuserver_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 Risk Event | False |
Implementation
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
administrators may enable or disable this feature that may cause some false positive.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
a registry modification in Windows auto update configuration in $dest$ | 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: 2