Detection: Excessive File Deletion In WinDefender Folder

Updated Date: 2024-05-12 ID: b5baa09a-7a05-11ec-8da4-acde48001122 Author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk, Steven Dick Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects excessive file deletion events in the Windows Defender folder. It leverages Sysmon EventCodes 23 and 26 to identify processes deleting multiple files within this directory. This behavior is significant as it may indicate an attempt to corrupt or disable Windows Defender, a key security component. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow an attacker to disable endpoint protection, facilitating further malicious actions without detection.

1`sysmon` EventCode IN ("23","26") TargetFilename = "*\\ProgramData\\Microsoft\\Windows Defender\\*" 
2| stats count, values(TargetFilename) as deleted_files, min(_time) as firstTime, max(_time) as lastTime by user, dest, signature, signature_id, Image, process_name, process_guid 
3| rename Image as process 
4| where count >=50 
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
6| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
7| `excessive_file_deletion_in_windefender_folder_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source Supported App
Sysmon EventID 23 Windows icon 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($field$)
excessive_file_deletion_in_windefender_folder_filter search *
excessive_file_deletion_in_windefender_folder_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
T1485 Data Destruction Impact
KillChainPhase.ACTIONS_ON_OBJECTIVES
NistCategory.DE_CM
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT38
Gamaredon Group
LAPSUS$
Lazarus Group
Sandworm Team

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

To successfully implement this search, you must ingest logs that include the process name, TargetFilename, and ProcessID executions from your endpoints. If you are utilizing Sysmon, ensure you have at least version 2.0 of the Sysmon TA installed.

Known False Positives

Windows Defender AV updates may trigger this alert. Please adjust the filter macros to mitigate false positives.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
Excessive file deletion events were detected in the Windows Defender folder on $dest$ by $user$. Investigate further to determine if this activity is malicious. 25 50 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: 3