Windows Odbcconf Hunting

SPLUNK detection rule by Michael Haag, Splunk · Apache-2.0

The following analytic identifies the execution of Odbcconf.exe within the environment. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process creation events where the process name is Odbcconf.exe. This activity is significant because Odbcconf.exe can be used by attackers to execute arbitrary commands or load malicious DLLs, potentially leading to code execution or persistence. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to maintain access to the system, execute further malicious activities, or escalate privileges, posing a significant threat to the environment.

name: Windows Odbcconf Hunting
id: 0562ad4b-fdaa-4882-b12f-7b8e0034cd72
version: 9
creation_date: '2022-06-17'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Michael Haag, Splunk
status: production
type: Hunting
description: The following analytic identifies the execution of Odbcconf.exe within the environment. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process creation events where the process name is Odbcconf.exe. This activity is significant because Odbcconf.exe can be used by attackers to execute arbitrary commands or load malicious DLLs, potentially leading to code execution or persistence. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to maintain access to the system, execute further malicious activities, or escalate privileges, posing a significant threat to the environment.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 1
    - Windows Event Log Security 4688
    - CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2
search: |-
    | tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes
      WHERE Processes.process_name=odbcconf.exe
      BY Processes.action Processes.dest Processes.original_file_name
         Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.parent_process_guid
         Processes.parent_process_id Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process_path
         Processes.process Processes.process_exec Processes.process_guid
         Processes.process_hash Processes.process_id Processes.process_integrity_level
         Processes.process_name Processes.process_path Processes.user
         Processes.user_id Processes.vendor_product
    | `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
    | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
    | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
    | `windows_odbcconf_hunting_filter`
how_to_implement: The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the `Processes` node of the `Endpoint` data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.
known_false_positives: False positives will be present as this is meant to assist with filtering and tuning.
references:
    - https://strontic.github.io/xcyclopedia/library/odbcconf.exe-07FBA12552331355C103999806627314.html
    - https://twitter.com/redcanary/status/1541838407894171650?s=20&t=kp3WBPtfnyA3xW7D7wx0uw
analytic_story:
    - Living Off The Land
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1218.008
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1218.008/atomic_red_team/windows-sysmon-odbc-regsvr.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
      test_type: unit

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Executable code, not a declarative rule

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