Windows Security Support Provider Reg Query

SPLUNK detection rule by Teoderick Contreras, Splunk · Apache-2.0

The following analytic identifies command-line activity querying the registry for Security Support Providers (SSPs) related to Local Security Authority (LSA) protection and configuration. This detection leverages Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) telemetry, focusing on processes accessing specific LSA registry paths. Monitoring this activity is crucial as adversaries and post-exploitation tools like winpeas may use it to gather information on LSA protections, potentially leading to credential theft. If confirmed malicious, attackers could exploit this to scrape password hashes or plaintext passwords from memory, significantly compromising system security.

name: Windows Security Support Provider Reg Query
id: 31302468-93c9-4eca-9ae3-2d41f53a4e2b
version: 13
creation_date: '2022-12-06'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: Anomaly
description: The following analytic identifies command-line activity querying the registry for Security Support Providers (SSPs) related to Local Security Authority (LSA) protection and configuration. This detection leverages Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) telemetry, focusing on processes accessing specific LSA registry paths. Monitoring this activity is crucial as adversaries and post-exploitation tools like winpeas may use it to gather information on LSA protections, potentially leading to credential theft. If confirmed malicious, attackers could exploit this to scrape password hashes or plaintext passwords from memory, significantly compromising system security.
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 `process_reg` AND Processes.process = "* query *" AND Processes.process = "*\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\LSA*" Processes.process IN ("*RunAsPPL*" , "*LsaCfgFlags*") 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_security_support_provider_reg_query_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: No false positives have been identified at this time.
references:
    - https://blog.netwrix.com/2022/01/11/understanding-lsa-protection/
    - https://github.com/carlospolop/PEASS-ng/tree/master/winPEAS
    - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2022/10/14/new-prestige-ransomware-impacts-organizations-in-ukraine-and-poland/
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$dest$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  dest = "$dest$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: 7d
      latest_offset: '0'
intermediate_findings:
    entities:
        - field: dest
          type: system
          score: 20
          message: process with reg query command line $process$ on $dest$
analytic_story:
    - Windows Post-Exploitation
    - Prestige Ransomware
    - Sneaky Active Directory Persistence Tricks
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1547.005
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/malware/winpeas/sysmon.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
      test_type: unit

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