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Description

The following analytic detects the creation of hidden scheduled tasks on Windows systems, which are not visible in the UI. It leverages Windows Security EventCode 4698 to identify tasks where the 'Hidden' setting is enabled. This behavior is significant as it may indicate malware activity, such as Industroyer2, or the use of living-off-the-land binaries (LOLBINs) to download additional payloads. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to execute code stealthily, maintain persistence, or further compromise the system by downloading additional malicious payloads.

  • Type: TTP

  • Product: Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk Cloud

  • Last Updated: 2024-05-28
  • Author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
  • ID: 0b730470-5fe8-4b13-93a7-fe0ad014d0cc

Annotations

ATT&CK

ATT&CK

ID Technique Tactic
T1053 Scheduled Task/Job Execution, Persistence, Privilege Escalation
Kill Chain Phase
  • Installation
  • Exploitation
NIST
  • DE.CM
CIS20
  • CIS 10
CVE 


1
2
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`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4698 
| xmlkv Message 
| search Hidden = true 
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by  Task_Name, Command, Author, Hidden, dest 
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
| `windows_hidden_schedule_task_settings_filter`

Macros

The SPL above uses the following Macros:

:information_source: windows_hidden_schedule_task_settings_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
  • dest
  • Task_Name
  • Command
  • Author
  • Enabled
  • Hidden
  • Arguments

How To Implement

To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the task schedule (Exa. Security Log EventCode 4698) endpoints. Tune and filter known instances of Task schedule used in your environment.

Known False Positives

unknown

Associated Analytic Story

RBA

Risk Score Impact Confidence Message
64.0 80 80 A schedule task with hidden setting enable in host $dest$

: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: 2