Detect Active Setup in Sumo Logic CSE
Adversaries may achieve persistence by adding a Registry key to the Active Setup of the local machine. Active Setup is a Windows mechanism that is used to execute programs when a user logs in. The value stored in the Registry key will be executed after a user logs into the computer. These programs will be executed under the context of the user and will have the account's associated permissions level. Adversaries may abuse Active Setup by creating a key under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\ and setting a malicious value for StubPath. This value will serve as the program that will be executed when a user logs into the computer. Adversaries can abuse these components to execute malware, such as remote access tools, to maintain persistence through system reboots.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Persistence Privilege Escalation
- Technique
- T1547 Boot or Logon Autostart Execution
- Sub-technique
- T1547.014 Active Setup
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1547/014/
Sumo Detection Query
(_sourceCategory=*windows*sysmon* OR _sourceCategory=*wineventlog*)
| where EventCode = 13
| where TargetObject matches "*SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Active Setup\\Installed Components*"
| parse regex field=TargetObject "Installed Components\\\\(?<guid>\{[^}]+\})" nodrop
| parse regex field=Details "(?<stubpath_value>.+)" nodrop
| where TargetObject matches "*StubPath*" OR (guid != "" AND guid != "{89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383}" AND guid != "{22d6f312-b0f6-11d0-94ab-0080c74c7e95}" AND guid != "{2C7339CF-2B09-4501-B3F3-F3508C9228ED}" AND guid != "{44BBA840-CC51-11CF-AAFA-00AA00B6015C}" AND guid != "{6BF52A52-394A-11d3-B153-00C04F79FAA6}" AND guid != "{89B4C1CD-B018-4511-B0A1-5476DBF70820}")
| eval suspicious_stub = if (matches(toLowerCase(Details), "*(cmd.exe|powershell|mshta|rundll32|regsvr32|wscript|cscript|certutil|\.bat|\.vbs|\.js|\.hta|http://|https://)*"), 1, 0)
| eval known_guid = if (matches(guid, "*89820200-ECBD*") OR matches(guid, "*22d6f312-b0f6*") OR matches(guid, "*2C7339CF-2B09*") OR matches(guid, "*44BBA840-CC51*") OR matches(guid, "*6BF52A52-394A*") OR matches(guid, "*89B4C1CD-B018*"), 1, 0)
| where suspicious_stub = 1 OR known_guid = 0
| fields _messageTime, Computer, User, Image, TargetObject, Details, guid, suspicious_stub, known_guid
| sort by _messageTime descDetects Active Setup persistence mechanism (T1547.014) in Sumo Logic by parsing Sysmon EventCode 13 registry value set events under the Active Setup Installed Components key. Extracts GUIDs from registry paths, flags unknown GUIDs not matching known Microsoft components, and identifies suspicious StubPath values referencing common attacker tooling such as PowerShell, mshta, rundll32, or remote URLs.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Enterprise software installations that create new GUID-based Active Setup entries during initial deployment, especially for productivity suites or developer toolkits that include scripting components in StubPath
- Automated configuration management tools (Puppet, Chef, Ansible) modifying Active Setup registry keys as part of system baseline enforcement
- Custom in-house applications that use Active Setup with PowerShell-based StubPath for per-user configuration during first login
Other platforms for T1547.014
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 1Active Setup StubPath Persistence with Custom GUID
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 12: Registry Key Created for the GUID subkey. Sysmon Event ID 13: Registry Value Set for StubPath, ComponentID, and Version values. Security Event ID 4688: Process creation for reg.exe with the full command line.
- Test 2Active Setup with Suspicious LOLBin StubPath
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 13: Registry Value Set with Details containing 'cmd.exe /c'. On next user logon: Sysmon Event ID 1 for cmd.exe spawned by userinit.exe/explorer.exe. Sysmon Event ID 11 for file creation in %TEMP%.
- Test 3Active Setup via PowerShell Registry Manipulation
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create for powershell.exe with the registry manipulation command. Sysmon Event ID 12: Registry Key Created. Sysmon Event ID 13: Registry Value Set for StubPath and Version. PowerShell ScriptBlock Log Event ID 4104 with the full script.
References (8)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1547/014/
- https://helgeklein.com/blog/2010/04/active-setup-explained/
- https://digital-forensics.sans.org/summit-archives/2010/35-glyer-apt-persistence-mechanisms.pdf
- https://citizenlab.ca/2015/12/packrat-report/
- https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-tropic-trooper-targets-taiwanese-government-and-fossil-fuel-provider-with-poison-ivy/
- https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1547.014/T1547.014.md
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/tree/master/rules/windows/registry/registry_set
Unlock Pro Content
Get the full detection package for T1547.014 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.