ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1491 | Defacement | Impact |
Detection: Windows Defacement Modify Transcodedwallpaper File
Description
The following analytic identifies modifications to the TranscodedWallpaper file in the wallpaper theme directory, excluding changes made by explorer.exe. This detection leverages the Endpoint.Processes and Endpoint.Filesystem data models to correlate process activity with file modifications. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to deface or change the desktop wallpaper of a targeted host, a tactic often used to signal compromise or deliver a message. If confirmed malicious, this could be a sign of unauthorized access and tampering, potentially leading to further system compromise or data exfiltration.
Search
1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.process_path !="*\\Windows\\Explorer.EXE" by _time span=1h Processes.process_id Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.dest Processes.process_guid Processes.original_file_name
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
4|rename process_guid as proc_guid
5| join proc_guid, _time [
6| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Filesystem where Filesystem.file_path = "*\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Themes\\TranscodedWallpaper" by _time span=1h Filesystem.dest Filesystem.file_create_time Filesystem.file_name Filesystem.file_path Filesystem.process_guid
7| `drop_dm_object_name(Filesystem)`
8|rename process_guid as proc_guid
9| fields file_name file_path process_name process_path process dest file_create_time _time proc_guid]
10| `windows_defacement_modify_transcodedwallpaper_file_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2 | N/A | 'crowdstrike:events:sensor' |
'crowdstrike' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
security_content_summariesonly | summariesonly= summariesonly_config allow_old_summaries= oldsummaries_config fillnull_value= fillnull_config`` |
windows_defacement_modify_transcodedwallpaper_file_filter | search * |
windows_defacement_modify_transcodedwallpaper_file_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 | True |
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 Filesystem
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
3rd part software application can change the wallpaper. Filter is needed.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
modification or creation of transcodedwallpaper file by $process_name$ in $dest$ | 9 | 30 | 30 |
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