Detect Regasm with no Command Line Arguments

Name:Detect Regasm with no Command Line Arguments
id:c3bc1430-04e7-4178-835f-047d8e6e97df
version:10
date:2025-02-10
author:Michael Haag, Splunk
status:production
type:TTP
Description:The following analytic detects instances of regasm.exe running without command line arguments. This behavior typically indicates process injection, where another process manipulates regasm.exe. The detection leverages Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) data, focusing on process names and command-line executions. This activity is significant as it may signal an attempt to evade detection or execute malicious code. If confirmed malicious, attackers could achieve code execution, potentially leading to privilege escalation, persistence, or access to sensitive information. Investigate network connections, parallel processes, and suspicious module loads for further context.
Data_source:

• -Sysmon EventID 1
• -Windows Event Log Security 4688
• -CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2

search:| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where `process_regasm` by _time span=1h 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)`
| regex process="(?i)(regasm\.exe.{0,4}$)"
| `detect_regasm_with_no_command_line_arguments_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:Although unlikely, limited instances of regasm.exe or may cause a false positive. Filter based endpoint usage, command line arguments, or process lineage.
References:
  -https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1218/009/
  -https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1218.009/T1218.009.md
  -https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/Binaries/Regasm/
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 ("$user$", "$dest$") 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:'$info_max_time$'
tags:
  analytic_story:
    - 'Suspicious Regsvcs Regasm Activity'
    - 'Living Off The Land'
    - 'Handala Wiper'
  asset_type:Endpoint
  mitre_attack_id:
    - 'T1218.009'
  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/T1218.009/atomic_red_team/windows-sysmon.log
  source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
  sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
manual_test:None