Detection: Executable File Written in Administrative SMB Share

Updated Date: 2024-11-28 ID: f63c34fe-a435-11eb-935a-acde48001122 Author: Teoderick Contreras, Mauricio Velazco, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects executable files (.exe or .dll) being written to Windows administrative SMB shares (Admin$, IPC$, C$). It leverages Windows Security Event Logs with EventCode 5145 to identify this activity. This behavior is significant as it is commonly used by tools like PsExec/PaExec for staging binaries before creating and starting services on remote endpoints, a technique often employed for lateral movement and remote code execution. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code remotely, potentially compromising additional systems within the network.

Search

1`wineventlog_security` EventCode=5145 RelativeTargetName IN ("*.exe","*.dll") ObjectType=File ShareName IN ("\\\\*\\C$","\\\\*\\IPC$","\\\\*\\admin$") AccessMask= "0x2" 
2| stats min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime count by EventCode ShareName RelativeTargetName ObjectType AccessMask src_user src_port IpAddress 
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`  
4| `executable_file_written_in_administrative_smb_share_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Windows Event Log Security 5145	Windows	`'xmlwineventlog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Security'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
security_content_ctime	`convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)`
executable_file_written_in_administrative_smb_share_filter	`search *`

executable_file_written_in_administrative_smb_share_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK

+ Kill Chain Phases

+ NIST

+ CIS

- Threat Actors

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1021	Remote Services	Lateral Movement
T1021.002	SMB/Windows Admin Shares	Lateral Movement

KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON

NistCategory.DE_CM

Cis18Value.CIS_10

Aquatic Panda

Ember Bear

Wizard Spider

APT28

APT3

APT32

APT39

APT41

Aquatic Panda

Blue Mockingbird

Chimera

Cinnamon Tempest

Deep Panda

FIN13

FIN8

Fox Kitten

Ke3chang

Lazarus Group

Moses Staff

Orangeworm

Play

Sandworm Team

Threat Group-1314

ToddyCat

Turla

Wizard Spider

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

This configuration file applies to all detections of type TTP. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting and generate Notable Events.

Implementation

To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting Windows Security Event Logs with 5145 EventCode enabled. The Windows TA is also required. Also enable the object Audit access success/failure in your group policy.

Known False Positives

System Administrators may use looks like PsExec for troubleshooting or administrations tasks. However, this will typically come only from certain users and certain systems that can be added to an allow list.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message	Risk Score	Impact	Confidence
$src_user$ dropped or created an executable file in known sensitive SMB share. Share name=$ShareName$, Target name=$RelativeTargetName$, and Access mask=$AccessMask$	70	70	100

The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

References

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Security`	`XmlWinEventLog`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Security`	`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: 6