ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1546.015 | Component Object Model Hijacking | Persistence |
T1059 | Command and Scripting Interpreter | Privilege Escalation |
T1059.001 | PowerShell | Execution |
Detection: Powershell COM Hijacking InprocServer32 Modification
Description
The following analytic detects attempts to modify or add a Component Object Model (COM) entry to the InProcServer32 path within the registry using PowerShell. It leverages PowerShell ScriptBlock Logging (EventCode 4104) to identify suspicious script blocks that target the InProcServer32 registry path. This activity is significant because modifying COM objects can be used for persistence or privilege escalation by attackers. If confirmed malicious, this could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or maintain persistent access to the compromised system, posing a severe security risk.
Search
1`powershell` EventCode=4104 ScriptBlockText = "*Software\\Classes\\CLSID\\*\\InProcServer32*"
2| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by EventCode ScriptBlockText Computer UserID
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
5| `powershell_com_hijacking_inprocserver32_modification_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
Powershell Script Block Logging 4104 | Windows | 'xmlwineventlog' |
'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
powershell | (source=WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational OR source="XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational") |
powershell_com_hijacking_inprocserver32_modification_filter | search * |
powershell_com_hijacking_inprocserver32_modification_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 following analytic requires PowerShell operational logs to be imported. Modify the PowerShell macro as needed to match the sourcetype or add index. This analytic is specific to 4104, or PowerShell Script Block Logging.
Known False Positives
False positives will be present if any scripts are adding to inprocserver32. Filter as needed.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
A PowerShell script has been identified with InProcServer32 within the script code on $Computer$. | 64 | 80 | 80 |
References
Detection Testing
Test Type | Status | Dataset | Source | Sourcetype |
---|---|---|---|---|
Validation | ✅ Passing | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Unit | ✅ Passing | Dataset | XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational |
xmlwineventlog |
Integration | ✅ Passing | Dataset | XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/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