Windows Known GraphicalProton Loaded Modules

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

The following analytic detects the loading of DLL modules associated with the GraphicalProton backdoor implant, commonly used by SVR in targeted attacks. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 7 to identify specific DLLs loaded by processes. This activity is significant as it may indicate the presence of a sophisticated backdoor, warranting immediate investigation. If confirmed malicious, the attacker could gain persistent access to the compromised host, potentially leading to further exploitation and data exfiltration.

name: Windows Known GraphicalProton Loaded Modules
id: bf471c94-0324-4b19-a113-d02749b969bc
version: 13
creation_date: '2024-01-10'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: Anomaly
description: The following analytic detects the loading of DLL modules associated with the GraphicalProton backdoor implant, commonly used by SVR in targeted attacks. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 7 to identify specific DLLs loaded by processes. This activity is significant as it may indicate the presence of a sophisticated backdoor, warranting immediate investigation. If confirmed malicious, the attacker could gain persistent access to the compromised host, potentially leading to further exploitation and data exfiltration.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 7
search: '`sysmon` EventCode=7 ImageLoaded IN ("*\\AclNumsInvertHost.dll", "*\\ModeBitmapNumericAnimate.dll", "*\\UnregisterAncestorAppendAuto.dll", "*\\DeregisterSeekUsers.dll", "*\\ScrollbarHandleGet.dll", "*\\PerformanceCaptionApi.dll", "*\\WowIcmpRemoveReg.dll", "*\\BlendMonitorStringBuild.dll", "*\\HandleFrequencyAll.dll", "*\\HardSwapColor.dll", "*\\LengthInMemoryActivate.dll", "*\\ParametersNamesPopup.dll", "*\\ModeFolderSignMove.dll", "*\\ChildPaletteConnected.dll", "*\\AddressResourcesSpec.dll") | fillnull | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by Image ImageLoaded dest loaded_file loaded_file_path original_file_name process_exec process_guid process_hash process_id process_name process_path service_dll_signature_exists service_dll_signature_verified signature signature_id user_id vendor_product | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `windows_known_graphicalproton_loaded_modules_filter`'
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the process name and imageloaded executions from your endpoints. If you are using Sysmon, you must have at least version 6.0.4 of the Sysmon TA.
known_false_positives: No false positives have been identified at this time.
references:
    - https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-347a
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: Windows Known GraphicalProton backdoor Loaded Modules on $dest$.
analytic_story:
    - Hellcat Ransomware
    - CISA AA23-347A
    - Water Gamayun
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1574.001
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/T1574.002/svr_loaded_modules/loaded_module_svr.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
      test_type: unit

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9f6347bd-de87-4dac-b54b-fe0172635abf

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