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Description

The following analytic identifies the usage of msiexec.exe using the /z switch parameter, which grants the ability for msiexec to unload DLLRegisterServer. Upon triage, review parent process and capture any artifacts for further review.

  • Type: TTP

  • Product: Splunk Behavioral Analytics

  • Last Updated: 2022-08-31
  • Author: Michael Haag, Splunk
  • ID: df76a8d1-92e1-4ec9-b8f7-695b5838703e

Annotations

ATT&CK

ATT&CK

ID Technique Tactic
T1218.007 Msiexec Defense Evasion
Kill Chain Phase
  • Exploitation
NIST
  • DE.CM
CIS20
  • CIS 10
CVE 


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| from read_ba_enriched_events() 
| eval timestamp = ucast(map_get(input_event,"time"),"long", null) 
| eval metadata = ucast(map_get(input_event, "metadata"),"map<string, any>", null) 
| eval metadata_uid = ucast(map_get(metadata, "uid"),"string", null) 
| eval process=ucast(map_get(input_event,"process"), "map<string, any>", null) 
| eval process_pid=ucast(map_get(process,"pid"), "string", null) 
| eval process_file=ucast(map_get(process,"file"), "map<string, any>", null) 
| eval process_file_path=ucast(map_get(process_file,"path"), "string", null) 
| eval process_file_name=ucast(map_get(process_file,"name"), "string", null) 
| eval process_cmd_line=ucast(map_get(process,"cmd_line"), "string", null) 
| eval actor=ucast(map_get(input_event,"actor"), "map<string, any>", null) 
| eval actor_user=ucast(map_get(actor,"user"), "map<string, any>", null) 
| eval actor_user_name=ucast(map_get(actor_user,"name"), "string", null) 
| eval actor_process=ucast(map_get(actor,"process"), "map<string, any>", null) 
| eval actor_process_pid=ucast(map_get(actor_process,"pid"), "string", null) 
| eval actor_process_file=ucast(map_get(actor_process,"file"), "map<string, any>", null) 
| eval actor_process_file_path=ucast(map_get(actor_process_file,"path"), "string", null) 
| eval actor_process_file_name=ucast(map_get(actor_process_file,"name"), "string", null) 
| eval device=ucast(map_get(input_event,"device"), "map<string, any>", null) 
| eval device_hostname=ucast(map_get(device,"hostname"), "string", null) 
| where (like(process_cmd_line, "%-z %") OR like(process_cmd_line, "%/z %")) AND process_file_name="msiexec.exe" --finding_report--

Macros

The SPL above uses the following Macros:

:information_source: windows_system_binary_proxy_execution_msiexec_unregister_dll_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.

  • process.pid
  • process.file.path
  • process.file.name
  • process.cmd_line
  • actor.user.name
  • actor.process.pid
  • actor.process.file.path
  • actor.process.file.name
  • device.hostname

How To Implement

To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the process name, parent process, and command-line executions from your endpoints. If you are using Sysmon, you must have at least version 6.0.4 of the Sysmon TA.

Known False Positives

False positives may be present, filter by destination or parent process as needed.

Associated Analytic Story

RBA

Risk Score Impact Confidence Message
35.0 70 50 An instance of spawning $process_name$ was identified on endpoint $dest_device_id$ by user $dest_user_id$ attempting to unregister a DLL.

:information_source: 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

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: 1