Detection Strategy for Device Driver Discovery

Technique Detected:  Device Driver Discovery | T1652

ID: DET0579
Domains: Enterprise
Analytics: AN1595, AN1596, AN1597
Version: 1.0
Created: 21 October 2025
Last Modified: 21 October 2025

Analytics

AN1595

Monitor for suspicious usage of driver enumeration utilities (driverquery.exe) or API calls such as EnumDeviceDrivers(). Registry queries against HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services and HardwareProfiles that are abnormal may also indicate attempts to discover installed drivers and services. Correlate command execution, process creation, and registry access to build a behavioral chain of driver discovery.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Process Creation (DC0032) WinEventLog:Security EventCode=4688
Windows Registry Key Modification (DC0063) WinEventLog:Sysmon EventCode=13
Mutable Elements
Field Description
AllowedUtilities Whitelist expected administrative usage of driverquery.exe or other enumeration utilities.
TimeWindow Correlation window between process creation and registry queries to identify suspicious chaining of events.

AN1596

Detect attempts to enumerate kernel modules through lsmod, modinfo, or inspection of /proc/modules and /dev entries. Focus on unusual execution contexts such as unprivileged users or processes outside expected administrative workflows.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Command Execution (DC0064) auditd:SYSCALL execve: Execution of lsmod, modinfo, or cat /proc/modules
File Access (DC0055) auditd:FS read: File access to /proc/modules or /sys/module/
Mutable Elements
Field Description
KnownAdminUsers Limit detection noise by filtering expected kernel module inspection by root or system maintenance scripts.

AN1597

Detect loading or inspection of kernel extensions (kextstat, kextfind) and file access to /System/Library/Extensions/. Monitor unexpected usage of these utilities by non-administrative users or scripts.

Log Sources
Data Component Name Channel
Process Creation (DC0032) macos:unifiedlog exec: Execution of kextstat, kextfind, or ioreg targeting driver information
File Access (DC0055) macos:unifiedlog read: File access to /System/Library/Extensions/ or related kernel extension paths
Mutable Elements
Field Description
AllowedMaintenanceTasks Tune detection by excluding expected system diagnostic or patch-related invocations of kext utilities.