Detection: Windows MSHTA Writing to World Writable Path

Description

The following analytic identifies instances of mshta.exe writing files to world-writable directories. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 11 logs to detect file write operations by mshta.exe to directories like C:\Windows\Tasks and C:\Windows\Temp. This activity is significant as it often indicates an attempt to establish persistence or execute malicious code, deviating from the utility's legitimate use. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could lead to the execution of multi-stage payloads, potentially resulting in full system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Search

1`sysmon` EventCode=11 Image="*\\mshta.exe" TargetFilename IN ("*\\Windows\\Tasks\\*", "*\\Windows\\Temp\\*", "*\\Windows\\tracing\\*", "*\\Windows\\PLA\\Reports\\*", "*\\Windows\\PLA\\Rules\\*", "*\\Windows\\PLA\\Templates\\*", "*\\Windows\\PLA\\Reports\\en-US\\*", "*\\Windows\\PLA\\Rules\\en-US\\*", "*\\Windows\\Registration\\CRMLog\\*", "*\\Windows\\System32\\Tasks\\*", "*\\Windows\\System32\\Com\\dmp\\*", "*\\Windows\\System32\\LogFiles\\WMI\\*", "*\\Windows\\System32\\Microsoft\\Crypto\\RSA\\MachineKeys\\*", "*\\Windows\\System32\\spool\\PRINTERS\\*", "*\\Windows\\System32\\spool\\SERVERS\\*", "*\\Windows\\System32\\spool\\drivers\\color\\*", "*\\Windows\\System32\\Tasks\\Microsoft\\Windows\\RemoteApp and Desktop Connections Update\\*", "*\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\Tasks\\*", "*\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\Com\\dmp\\*", "*\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\Tasks\\Microsoft\\Windows\\PLA\\*", "*\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\Tasks\\Microsoft\\Windows\\RemoteApp and Desktop Connections Update\\*", "*\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\Tasks\\Microsoft\\Windows\\PLA\\System\\*") 
2| rename Computer as dest, User as user 
3| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by dest, user, Image, TargetFilename 
4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
5| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
6| `windows_mshta_writing_to_world_writable_path_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Sysmon EventID 11	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 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 search focuses on EventCode 11 where the Image is mshta.exe and the TargetFilename is within world-writable directories such as C:\Windows\Tasks, C:\Windows\Temp, and others. The detection is designed to catch the initial file write operation by mshta.exe to these locations, which is indicative of an attempt to establish persistence or execute malicious code. The analytic can be modified to include additional world-writable directories as needed.

Known False Positives

False positives may occur if legitimate processes are writing to world-writable directories. It is recommended to investigate the context of the file write operation to determine if it is malicious or not. Modify the search to include additional known good paths for mshta.exe to reduce false positives.

Associated Analytic Story

• APT29 Diplomatic Deceptions with WINELOADER

• Suspicious MSHTA Activity

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

References

• https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/apt29-wineloader-german-political-parties

• https://www.zscaler.com/blogs/security-research/european-diplomats-targeted-spikedwine-wineloader

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