Detection: Windows Process Commandline Discovery

Updated Date: 2024-05-20 ID: 67d2a52e-a7e2-4a5d-ae44-a21212048bc2 Author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk Type: Hunting Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the use of Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) to retrieve information about running processes, specifically targeting the command lines used to launch those processes. This detection leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on logs containing process details and command-line executions. This activity is significant as it may indicate suspicious behavior, such as a user or process gathering detailed process information, which is uncommon for non-technical users. If confirmed malicious, this could allow an attacker to gain insights into running processes, aiding in further exploitation or lateral movement.

1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where `process_wmic` Processes.process= "* process *" Processes.process= "* get commandline *" by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.parent_process Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id 
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
5| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
6| `windows_process_commandline_discovery_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source Supported App
CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2 N/A 'crowdstrike:events:sensor' 'crowdstrike' N/A

Macros Used

Name Value
process_wmic (Processes.process_name=wmic.exe OR Processes.original_file_name=wmic.exe)
windows_process_commandline_discovery_filter search *
windows_process_commandline_discovery_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
T1057 Process Discovery Discovery
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
NistCategory.DE_AE
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT1
APT28
APT3
APT37
APT38
APT5
Andariel
Chimera
Darkhotel
Deep Panda
Earth Lusca
Gamaredon Group
HAFNIUM
HEXANE
Higaisa
Inception
Ke3chang
Kimsuky
Lazarus Group
Magic Hound
Molerats
MuddyWater
Mustang Panda
OilRig
Poseidon Group
Rocke
Sidewinder
Stealth Falcon
TeamTNT
ToddyCat
Tropic Trooper
Turla
Volt Typhoon
Windshift
Winnti Group

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 Risk Event False
This configuration file applies to all detections of type hunting.

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

Administrators or power users may use this command for troubleshooting. Filter as needed.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
Activity related to process commandline discovery detected on $dest$ using wmic.exe. 15 30 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.

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