Winword Spawning Cmd

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

The following analytic has been deprecated in favour of a more generic approach in "Windows Office Product Spawned Uncommon Process". The following analytic identifies instances where Microsoft Word (winword.exe) spawns the command prompt (cmd.exe). This behavior is detected using Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) telemetry, focusing on process creation events where the parent process is winword.exe. This activity is significant because it is uncommon and often associated with spearphishing attacks, where malicious attachments execute commands via cmd.exe. If confirmed malicious, this could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands, potentially leading to further system compromise, data exfiltration, or lateral movement within the network.

name: Winword Spawning Cmd
id: 6fcbaedc-a37b-11eb-956b-acde48001122
version: 8
creation_date: '2021-04-22'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Michael Haag, Splunk
status: removed
type: TTP
description: The following analytic has been deprecated in favour of a more generic approach in "Windows Office Product Spawned Uncommon Process". The following analytic identifies instances where Microsoft Word (winword.exe) spawns the command prompt (cmd.exe). This behavior is detected using Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) telemetry, focusing on process creation events where the parent process is winword.exe. This activity is significant because it is uncommon and often associated with spearphishing attacks, where malicious attachments execute commands via cmd.exe. If confirmed malicious, this could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary commands, potentially leading to further system compromise, data exfiltration, or lateral movement within the network.
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.parent_process_name=winword.exe `process_cmd` by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process Processes.original_file_name Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id | `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)` | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `winword_spawning_cmd_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 should be limited, but if any are present, filter as needed.
references:
    - https://app.any.run/tasks/73af0064-a785-4c0a-ab0d-cde593fe16ef/
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$dest$" and "$user$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  dest = "$dest$" user = "$user$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$" and "$user$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$", "$user$") starthoursago=168  | 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: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
rba:
    message: '$parent_process_name$ on $dest$ by $user$ launched command: $process_name$ which is very common in spearphishing attacks.'
    risk_objects:
        - field: dest
          type: system
          score: 70
        - field: user
          type: user
          score: 70
    threat_objects:
        - field: process_name
          type: process_name
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - Spearphishing Attachments
        - Compromised Windows Host
        - CVE-2023-21716 Word RTF Heap Corruption
        - DarkCrystal RAT
    asset_type: Endpoint
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1566.001
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
        - Splunk Enterprise Security
        - Splunk Cloud
    security_domain: endpoint
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
          - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1566.001/macro/windows-sysmon.log
            source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
            sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
deprecation_info:
    reason: Detection deprecated as it no longer effectively identifies the intended malicious activity
    removed_in_version: 5.2.0
    replacement_content:
        - Windows Office Product Spawned Uncommon Process

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