Detection: Windows Remote Access Software BRC4 Loaded Dll

Description

The following analytic identifies the loading of four specific Windows DLLs (credui.dll, dbghelp.dll, samcli.dll, winhttp.dll) by a non-standard process. This detection leverages Sysmon EventCode 7 to monitor DLL load events and flags when all four DLLs are loaded within a short time frame. This activity is significant as it may indicate the presence of Brute Ratel C4, a sophisticated remote access tool used for credential dumping and other malicious activities. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could lead to unauthorized access, credential theft, and further compromise of the affected system.

Search

1`sysmon` EventCode=7 
2|bin _time span=30s 
3| eval BRC4_AnomalyLoadedDll=case(OriginalFileName=="credui.dll", 1, OriginalFileName=="DBGHELP.DLL", 1, OriginalFileName=="SAMCLI.DLL", 1, OriginalFileName=="winhttp.dll", 1, 1=1, 0) 
4| eval BRC4_LoadedDllPath=case(match(ImageLoaded, "credui.dll"), 1, match(ImageLoaded, "dbghelp.dll"), 1, match(ImageLoaded, "samcli.dll"), 1, match(ImageLoaded, "winhttp.dll"), 1, 1=1, 0) 
5| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(ImageLoaded) as ImageLoaded values(OriginalFileName) as OriginalFileName dc(ImageLoaded) as ImageLoadedCount by Image  BRC4_LoadedDllPath BRC4_AnomalyLoadedDll dest EventCode Signed 
6| where  ImageLoadedCount == 4 AND (BRC4_LoadedDllPath == 1 OR BRC4_AnomalyLoadedDll == 1) 
7| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
8| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
9| `windows_remote_access_software_brc4_loaded_dll_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Sysmon EventID 7	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

The latest Sysmon TA 3.0 https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/5709 will add the ImageLoaded name to the process_name field, allowing this query to work. Use as an example and implement for other products.

Known False Positives

This module can be loaded by a third party application. Filter is needed.

Associated Analytic Story

• Brute Ratel C4

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

References

• https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/brute-ratel-c4-tool/

• https://www.mdsec.co.uk/2022/08/part-3-how-i-met-your-beacon-brute-ratel/

• https://strontic.github.io/xcyclopedia/library/logoncli.dll-138871DBE68D0696D3D7FA91BC2873B1.html

• https://strontic.github.io/xcyclopedia/library/credui.dll-A5BD797BBC2DD55231B9DE99837E5461.html

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/secauthn/credential-manager

• https://strontic.github.io/xcyclopedia/library/samcli.dll-522D6D616EF142CDE965BD3A450A9E4C.html

• https://strontic.github.io/xcyclopedia/library/dbghelp.dll-15A55EAB307EF8C190FE6135C0A86F7C.html

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: 3