Detection: Windows connhost exe started forcefully

DEPRECATED DETECTION

This detection has been marked as deprecated by the Splunk Threat Research team. This means that it will no longer be maintained or supported. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at research@splunk.com.

Updated Date: 2024-08-15 ID: c114aaca-68ee-41c2-ad8c-32bf21db8769 Author: Rod Soto, Jose Hernandez, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The search looks for the Console Window Host process (connhost.exe) executed using the force flag -ForceV1. This is not regular behavior in the Windows OS and is often seen executed by the Ryuk Ransomware. DEPRECATED This event is actually seen in the windows 10 client of attack_range_local. After further testing we realized this is not specific to Ryuk.

Search

1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes WHERE Processes.process="*C:\\Windows\\system32\\conhost.exe* 0xffffffff *-ForceV1*" by Processes.user Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.dest 
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
5| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
6| `windows_connhost_exe_started_forcefully_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source	Supported App
Sysmon EventID 1	Windows	`'xmlwineventlog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational'`	N/A

Macros Used

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

windows_connhost_exe_started_forcefully_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
T1059.003	Windows Command Shell	Execution

KillChainPhase.INSTALLATION

NistCategory.DE_CM

Cis18Value.CIS_10

APT1

APT18

APT28

APT3

APT32

APT37

APT38

APT41

APT5

Aquatic Panda

BRONZE BUTLER

Blue Mockingbird

Chimera

Cinnamon Tempest

Cobalt Group

Dark Caracal

Darkhotel

Dragonfly

Ember Bear

FIN10

FIN13

FIN6

FIN7

FIN8

Fox Kitten

GALLIUM

Gamaredon Group

Gorgon Group

HAFNIUM

Higaisa

Indrik Spider

Ke3chang

Kimsuky

Lazarus Group

LazyScripter

Machete

Magic Hound

Metador

MuddyWater

Mustang Panda

Nomadic Octopus

OilRig

Patchwork

Rancor

Silence

Sowbug

Suckfly

TA505

TA551

TeamTNT

Threat Group-1314

Threat Group-3390

ToddyCat

Tropic Trooper

Turla

Volt Typhoon

Wizard Spider

ZIRCONIUM

admin@338

menuPass

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

The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the Processes node of the Endpoint data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.

Known False Positives

This process should not be ran forcefully, we have not see any false positives for this detection

Associated Analytic Story

Ryuk Ransomware

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message	Risk Score	Impact	Confidence
tbd	25	50	50

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

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	Not Applicable	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	❌ Failing	N/A	`N/A`	`N/A`
Integration	❌ Failing	N/A	`N/A`	`N/A`

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