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Description

The following analytic detects modifications to the registry that disable the Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) feature. It leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model, specifically monitoring changes to the registry path "*\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\ETWEnabled" with a value set to "0x00000000". This activity is significant because disabling ETW can allow attackers to evade detection mechanisms, making it harder for security tools to monitor malicious activities. If confirmed malicious, this could enable attackers to execute payloads with minimal alerts, impairing defenses and potentially leading to further compromise of the system.

  • Type: TTP
  • Product: Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk Cloud
  • Datamodel: Endpoint
  • Last Updated: 2024-05-24
  • Author: Steven Dick, Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
  • ID: f0eacfa4-d33f-11eb-8f9d-acde48001122

Annotations

ATT&CK

ATT&CK

ID Technique Tactic
T1562.001 Disable or Modify Tools Defense Evasion
T1562 Impair Defenses Defense Evasion
Kill Chain Phase
  • Exploitation
NIST
  • DE.CM
CIS20
  • CIS 10
CVE 


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| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Registry WHERE (Registry.registry_path= "*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\.NETFramework\\ETWEnabled" Registry.registry_value_data = "0x00000000") BY _time span=1h Registry.dest Registry.registry_path Registry.registry_key_name Registry.registry_value_name Registry.registry_value_data Registry.process_guid 
| `drop_dm_object_name(Registry)` 
| where isnotnull(registry_value_data) 
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
| `disable_etw_through_registry_filter`

Macros

The SPL above uses the following Macros:

:information_source: disable_etw_through_registry_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.

  • _time
  • Registry.dest
  • Registry.registry_value_name
  • Registry.registry_key_name
  • Registry.registry_path
  • Registry.registry_value_data
  • Registry.process_guid

How To Implement

To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the registry value name, registry path, and registry value data from your endpoints. If you are using Sysmon, you must have at least version 2.0 of the offical Sysmon TA. https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/5709

Known False Positives

network operator may disable this feature of windows but not so common.

Associated Analytic Story

RBA

Risk Score Impact Confidence Message
25.0 50 50 Disable ETW Through Registry on $dest$

: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: 5