ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1036.003 | Rename System Utilities | Defense Evasion |
T1036 | Masquerading | Defense Evasion |
Detection: Suspicious Copy on System32
Description
The following analytic detects suspicious file copy operations from the System32 or SysWow64 directories, often indicative of malicious activity. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on processes initiated by command-line tools like cmd.exe or PowerShell. This behavior is significant as it may indicate an attempt to execute malicious code using legitimate system tools (LOLBIN). If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, potentially leading to system compromise or further lateral movement within the network.
Search
1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.parent_process_name IN("cmd.exe", "powershell*","pwsh.exe", "sqlps.exe", "sqltoolsps.exe", "powershell_ise.exe") AND `process_copy` AND Processes.process IN("*\\Windows\\System32\\*", "*\\Windows\\SysWow64\\*") AND Processes.process = "*copy*" by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.parent_process_name Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id temp
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
4| eval splitted_commandline=split(process," ")
5| eval first_cmdline=lower(mvindex(splitted_commandline,0))
6| where NOT LIKE(first_cmdline,"%\\windows\\system32\\%") AND NOT LIKE(first_cmdline,"%\\windows\\syswow64\\%")
7| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
8| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
9|`suspicious_copy_on_system32_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2 | N/A | 'crowdstrike:events:sensor' |
'crowdstrike' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
process_copy | (Processes.process_name=copy.exe OR Processes.original_file_name=copy.exe OR Processes.process_name=xcopy.exe OR Processes.original_file_name=xcopy.exe) |
suspicious_copy_on_system32_filter | search * |
suspicious_copy_on_system32_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
The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the Processes
node of the Endpoint
data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.
Known False Positives
every user may do this event but very un-ussual.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
Execution of copy exe to copy file from $process$ in $dest$ | 63 | 70 | 90 |
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