Detection: Windows SQL Server Configuration Option Hunt

Updated Date: 2025-02-06 ID: 8dc9efd5-805a-460e-889e-bc79e5477af9 Author: Michael Haag, Splunk Type: Hunting Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

This detection helps hunt for changes to SQL Server configuration options that could indicate malicious activity. It monitors for modifications to any SQL Server configuration settings, allowing analysts to identify potentially suspicious changes that may be part of an attack, such as enabling dangerous features or modifying security-relevant settings.

Search

 1`wineventlog_application` EventCode=15457 
 2| rex field=EventData_Xml "<Data>(?<config_name>[^<]+)</Data><Data>(?<new_value>[^<]+)</Data><Data>(?<old_value>[^<]+)</Data>" 
 3| rename host as dest 
 4| eval change_type=case( old_value="0" AND new_value="1", "enabled", old_value="1" AND new_value="0", "disabled", true(), "modified" ) 
 5| eval risk_score=case( change_type="enabled", 90, change_type="disabled", 60, true(), 70 ) 
 6| eval risk_message="SQL Server ".config_name." was ".change_type." on host ".dest 
 7| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by dest EventCode config_name change_type risk_message risk_score 
 8| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
 9| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
10| `windows_sql_server_configuration_option_hunt_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Windows Event Log Application 15457	Windows	`'XmlWinEventLog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Application'`

Macros Used

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

windows_sql_server_configuration_option_hunt_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
T1505.001	SQL Stored Procedures	Persistence

Installation

DE.AE

CIS 10

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

To successfully implement this detection, you need to be ingesting Windows Application Event Logs from SQL Server instances. The detection specifically looks for EventID 15457 which indicates configuration changes to SQL Server settings. Ensure proper logging is enabled for SQL Server configuration changes and that the logs are being forwarded to your SIEM.

Known False Positives

Database administrators frequently make legitimate configuration changes for maintenance, performance tuning, and security hardening. To reduce false positives, establish a baseline of normal configuration changes, document approved configuration modifications, implement change control procedures, and maintain an inventory of expected settings.

Associated Analytic Story

SQL Server Abuse

References

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Application`	`XmlWinEventLog`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Application`	`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: 1