Detection: Windows WMIC Shadowcopy Delete

Description

This analytic detects the use of WMIC to delete volume shadow copies, which is a common technique used by ransomware actors to prevent system recovery. Ransomware like Cactus often delete shadow copies before encrypting files to ensure victims cannot recover their data without paying the ransom. This behavior is particularly concerning as it indicates potential ransomware activity or malicious actors attempting to prevent system recovery.

Search

 1
 2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.process_name=wmic.exe Processes.process = "*shadowcopy*" Processes.process = "*delete*" by Processes.action Processes.dest Processes.original_file_name Processes.parent_process
 3Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.parent_process_guid Processes.parent_process_id
 4Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process_path Processes.process Processes.process_exec
 5Processes.process_guid Processes.process_hash Processes.process_id Processes.process_integrity_level
 6Processes.process_name Processes.process_path Processes.user Processes.user_id Processes.vendor_product 
 7| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)` 
 8| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
 9| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
10| `windows_wmic_shadowcopy_delete_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Sysmon EventID 1	Windows	'xmlwineventlog'	'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational'

Macros Used

Annotations

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Implementation

This detection requires Sysmon logging with Event ID 1 (Process Create) enabled. The logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons and mapped to the Endpoint.Processes data model. Ensure that command-line arguments are being logged and that the appropriate permissions are in place to capture this data.

Known False Positives

Legitimate system maintenance or backup operations may occasionally delete shadow copies. However, this activity should be rare and typically performed through approved administrative tools rather than direct WMIC commands. Tune and modify the search to fit your environment, enable as TTP.

Associated Analytic Story

• Cactus Ransomware

• Suspicious WMI Use

• Volt Typhoon

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message:

A WMIC command, $process_name$, was detected attempting to delete volume shadow copies spawned off of $parent_process_name$ on $dest$. This is a common ransomware technique used to prevent system recovery.

References

• https://any.run/malware-trends/cactus

• https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1490/

Detection Testing

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