Detect Masquerade Task or Service in Splunk
Adversaries may attempt to manipulate the name of a task or service to make it appear legitimate or benign. Tasks/services executed by the Task Scheduler or systemd will typically be given a name and/or description. Windows services will have a service name as well as a display name. Adversaries may give tasks or services names that are similar or identical to those of legitimate ones, such as 'Windows Update Security', 'Google Chrome Security Update', or 'Microsoft Network Realtime Inspection Service'.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Defense Evasion
- Technique
- T1036 Masquerading
- Sub-technique
- T1036.004 Masquerade Task or Service
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1036/004/
SPL Detection Query
(index=wineventlog sourcetype="WinEventLog:System" EventCode=7045)
OR (index=wineventlog sourcetype="XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational" EventCode=1 ParentImage="*\\services.exe")
| eval ServiceDisplayName=coalesce(ServiceName, ServiceDisplayName, param1)
| eval SuspiciousName=if(match(lower(ServiceDisplayName), "(windows update security|microsoft network realtime|windows advanced task|google chrome security|windows video service|windows power efficiency|system authorization|windows management help|microsoft support|windows user service)"), 1, 0)
| eval GenericMimic=if(match(lower(ServiceDisplayName), "(svchost|update|security|microsoft|google|chrome|adobe).*(service|task|helper|agent)"), 1, 0)
| where SuspiciousName=1 OR GenericMimic=1
| table _time, host, User, ServiceDisplayName, ServiceName, Image, CommandLine, ServiceType, StartType
| sort - _timeDetects service installations with suspicious display names using Windows System Event ID 7045 (A service was installed) and Sysmon Event ID 1 for processes spawned by services.exe. Matches against known malicious service names from threat intelligence and applies heuristic pattern matching for vendor-mimicking service names.
Data Sources
Required Sourcetypes
False Positives & Tuning
- Legitimate Windows Update-related services installed during OS or feature updates
- Third-party security software that creates services with names containing 'Security' or 'Update'
- Enterprise software deployment tools creating services during application installation
Other platforms for T1036.004
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Create Masquerading Windows Service
Expected signal: Windows System Event ID 7045: A service was installed with ServiceName=WindowsUpdateSecurity and DisplayName='Windows Update Security Patches'. Sysmon Event ID 12/13: Registry key creation under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WindowsUpdateSecurity.
- Test 2Create Masquerading Scheduled Task
Expected signal: Security Event ID 4698: A scheduled task was created with TaskName=AdobeFlashSync. Sysmon Event ID 1: schtasks.exe process creation with /create command line.
- Test 3Create Masquerading Systemd Service (Linux)
Expected signal: File creation event for /etc/systemd/system/dbus-inotifier.service. Process execution of systemctl daemon-reload. Auditd events for write to /etc/systemd/system/.
References (6)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1036/004/
- http://researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/2016/11/unit42-shamoon-2-return-disttrack-wiper/
- https://vms.drweb.com/virus/?i=4276269
- https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490996.aspx
- https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemd.service.html
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1036.004/T1036.004.md
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