Detection: Windows SqlWriter SQLDumper DLL Sideload

Updated Date: 2024-05-17 ID: 2ed89ba9-c6c7-46aa-9f08-a2a1c2955aa3 Author: Michael Haag, Teoderick Contreras, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the abuse of SqlWriter and SQLDumper executables to sideload the vcruntime140.dll library. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 7 logs, focusing on instances where SQLDumper.exe or SQLWriter.exe load vcruntime140.dll, excluding legitimate loads from the System32 directory. This activity is significant as it indicates potential DLL sideloading, a technique used by adversaries to execute malicious code within trusted processes. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, maintain persistence, and evade detection by blending with legitimate processes.

Search

1`sysmon` EventCode=7 (Image="*\\SQLDumper.exe" OR Image="*\\SQLWriter.exe") ImageLoaded="*\\vcruntime140.dll" NOT ImageLoaded="C:\\Windows\\System32\\*" 
2| stats values(ImageLoaded) count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by Image,ImageLoaded, user, Computer, EventCode 
3| rename Computer as dest 
4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
5| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
6| `windows_sqlwriter_sqldumper_dll_sideload_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source	Supported App
Sysmon EventID 7	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_sqlwriter_sqldumper_dll_sideload_filter	`search *`

windows_sqlwriter_sqldumper_dll_sideload_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
T1574.002	DLL Side-Loading	Defense Evasion

KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON

KillChainPhase.INSTALLATION

NistCategory.DE_CM

Cis18Value.CIS_10

APT19

APT3

APT32

APT41

BRONZE BUTLER

BlackTech

Chimera

Cinnamon Tempest

Earth Lusca

FIN13

GALLIUM

Higaisa

Lazarus Group

LuminousMoth

MuddyWater

Mustang Panda

Naikon

Patchwork

SideCopy

Sidewinder

Threat Group-3390

Tropic Trooper

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 analytic is designed to be run against Sysmon event logs collected from endpoints. The analytic requires the Sysmon event logs to be ingested into Splunk. The analytic searches for EventCode 7 where the Image is either SQLDumper.exe or SQLWriter.exe and the ImageLoaded is vcruntime140.dll. The search also filters out the legitimate loading of vcruntime140.dll from the System32 directory to reduce false positives. The analytic can be modified to include additional known good paths for vcruntime140.dll to further reduce false positives.

Known False Positives

False positives are possible if legitimate processes are loading vcruntime140.dll from non-standard directories. It is recommended to investigate the context of the process loading vcruntime140.dll to determine if it is malicious or not. Modify the search to include additional known good paths for vcruntime140.dll to reduce false positives.

Associated Analytic Story

APT29 Diplomatic Deceptions with WINELOADER

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message	Risk Score	Impact	Confidence
An instance of $Image$ loading $ImageLoaded$ was detected on $dest$.	64	80	80

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:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational`	`xmlwineventlog`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational`	`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: 2