Name:Windows System Discovery Using Qwinsta id:2e765c1b-144a-49f0-93d0-1df4287cca04 version:3 date:2024-10-17 author:Teoderick Contreras, Splunk status:production type:Hunting Description:The following analytic detects the execution of "qwinsta.exe" on a Windows operating system. This detection leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process execution logs. The "qwinsta.exe" tool is significant because it can display detailed session information on a remote desktop session host server. This behavior is noteworthy as it is commonly abused by Qakbot malware to gather system information and send it back to its Command and Control (C2) server. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to unauthorized data exfiltration and further compromise of the host. 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.process_name = "qwinsta.exe" OR Processes.original_file_name = "qwinsta.exe" by Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_name Processes.process_name Processes.process_id Processes.process_guid Processes.process Processes.user Processes.dest Processes.parent_process_id Processes.original_file_name | `drop_dm_object_name("Processes")` | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` |`security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `windows_system_discovery_using_qwinsta_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:Administrator may execute this commandline tool for auditing purposes. Filter as needed. References: -https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/qwinsta -https://securelist.com/qakbot-technical-analysis/103931/ drilldown_searches:
: tags: analytic_story: - 'Qakbot' asset_type:Endpoint confidence:50 impact:50 message:System qwinsta domain discovery on $dest$ mitre_attack_id: - 'T1033' observable: name:'dest' type:'Endpoint' - role: - 'Victim' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' required_fields: - '_time' - '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_path' - 'Processes.process_path' - 'Processes.parent_process_id' risk_score:25 security_domain:endpoint
