Windows Disable Memory Crash Dump

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

The following analytic detects attempts to disable the memory crash dump feature on Windows systems by setting the registry value to 0. It leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry datamodel, specifically monitoring changes to the CrashDumpEnabled registry key. This activity is significant because disabling crash dumps can hinder forensic analysis and incident response efforts. If confirmed malicious, this action could be part of a broader attack strategy, such as data destruction or system destabilization, as seen with HermeticWiper, potentially leading to significant operational disruptions and data loss.

name: Windows Disable Memory Crash Dump
id: 59e54602-9680-11ec-a8a6-acde48001122
version: 12
creation_date: '2022-02-25'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Michael Haag, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects attempts to disable the memory crash dump feature on Windows systems by setting the registry value to 0. It leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry datamodel, specifically monitoring changes to the CrashDumpEnabled registry key. This activity is significant because disabling crash dumps can hinder forensic analysis and incident response efforts. If confirmed malicious, this action could be part of a broader attack strategy, such as data destruction or system destabilization, as seen with HermeticWiper, potentially leading to significant operational disruptions and data loss.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 13
search: '| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Registry where (Registry.registry_path="*\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\CrashControl\\CrashDumpEnabled") AND Registry.registry_value_data="0x00000000" by Registry.action Registry.dest Registry.process_guid Registry.process_id Registry.registry_hive Registry.registry_path Registry.registry_key_name Registry.registry_value_data Registry.registry_value_name Registry.registry_value_type Registry.status Registry.user Registry.vendor_product | `drop_dm_object_name(Registry)` | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `windows_disable_memory_crash_dump_filter`'
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search you need to be ingesting information on process that include the name of the Filesystem responsible for the changes from your endpoints into the `Endpoint` datamodel in the `Filesystem` and `Registry` node.
known_false_positives: No false positives have been identified at this time.
references:
    - https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2022/02/threat-advisory-hermeticwiper.html
    - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/performance/memory-dump-file-options
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$user$" and "$dest$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  user = "$user$" dest = "$dest$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$" and "$dest$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$", "$dest$") | 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"
finding:
    title: A process was identified attempting to disable memory crash dumps on $dest$.
    entity:
        field: user
        type: user
        score: 50
intermediate_findings:
    entities:
        - field: dest
          type: system
          score: 50
          message: A process was identified attempting to disable memory crash dumps on $dest$.
analytic_story:
    - Ransomware
    - Data Destruction
    - Windows Registry Abuse
    - Hermetic Wiper
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1485
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/hermetic_wiper/sysmon.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
      test_type: unit

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