Unsecured Credentials: Credentials in Registry

Monitor executed commands and arguments that may search the Registry on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.

Analytic 1 - Commands indicating credential searches in the registry.

(index=security sourcetype="powershell" EventCode=4104 ScriptBlockText="reg query /f password /t REG_SZ /s*")

Monitor newly executed processes for applications that can be used to query the Registry, such as Reg, and collect command parameters that may indicate credentials are being searched. Correlate activity with related suspicious behavior that may indicate an active intrusion to reduce false positives.

Note: Pseudocode Event IDs are for Sysmon (Event ID 1 - process create) and Windows Security Log (Event ID 4688 - a new process has been created). The Analytic looks for command-line instances of searching the Windows Registry for insecurely stored credentials. This can be accomplished using the query functionality of the Reg system utility, by looking for keys and values that contain strings such as "password". In addition, adversaries may use toolkits such as PowerSploit in order to dump credentials from various applications such as IIS. Accordingly, this analytic looks for invocations of reg.exe in this capacity as well as that of several PowerSploit modules with similar functionality.

Analytic 1 - Credentials in Files & Registry

(source="WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational" EventCode="1") OR (source="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode="4688")
CommandLine="reg query HKLM /f password /t REG_SZ /s" ORCommandLine="reg query HKCU /f password /t REG_SZ /s" ORCommandLine="Get-UnattendedInstallFile" ORCommandLine="Get-Webconfig" ORCommandLine="Get-ApplicationHost" ORCommandLine="Get-SiteListPassword" ORCommandLine="Get-CachedGPPPassword" ORCommandLine="Get-RegistryAutoLogon*"

Analytic 2 - New processes with parameters indicating credential searches.

(index=security sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4688 CommandLine="reg query /f password /t REG_SZ /s") OR(index=sysmon sourcetype="WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational" EventCode=1 CommandLine="reg query /f password /t REG_SZ /s")

Monitor for unexpected windows registry key being accessed that may search the Registry on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.

Analytic 1 - Unauthorized access to registry keys associated with credentials.

ndex=security sourcetype="WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing" EventCode=4663 ObjectType="Registry" (ObjectName="password" OR ObjectName="credential")| eval AccessType=case( AccessMask="0x1", "Read", AccessMask="0x2", "Write", AccessMask="0x3", "Read/Write", AccessMask="0x4", "Delete", true(), "Unknown")