Detection rules › YARA-L
Credential Dumping Attempt Via WerFault
Detects process LSASS memory dump using Mimikatz, NanoDump, Invoke-Mimikatz, Procdump or Taskmgr based on the CallTrace pointing to ntdll.dll, dbghelp.dll or dbgcore.dll for win10, server2016 and up
Known false positives
- Actual failures in lsass.exe that trigger a crash dump (unlikely), unknown cases in which WerFault accesses lsass.exe
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Credential Access |
References
Telemetry coverage
| Provider | Record / event type |
|---|---|
| Sysmon | Event ID 10: ProcessAccess |
Rule body
// Copyright 2025 Google LLC. Licensed under Apache-2.0.
rule credential_dumping_attempt_via_werfault {
meta:
author = "Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)"
description = "Detects process LSASS memory dump using Mimikatz, NanoDump, Invoke-Mimikatz, Procdump or Taskmgr based on the CallTrace pointing to ntdll.dll, dbghelp.dll or dbgcore.dll for win10, server2016 and up"
reference = "https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_access/proc_access_win_lsass_werfault.yml"
license = "https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License/blob/main/LICENSE.Detection.Rules.md"
rule_name = "Credential Dumping Attempt Via WerFault"
sigma_uuid = "e5b33f7d-eb93-48b6-9851-09e1e610b6d7"
sigma_status = "test"
rule_id = "mr_b3448ab7-b1a2-41f7-9cd4-151c3cb2e2d6"
tactic = "TA0006"
technique = "T1003.001"
type = "Detection"
data_source = "Sysmon"
platform = "Windows"
severity = "High"
priority = "High"
false_positives = "Actual failures in lsass.exe that trigger a crash dump (unlikely), unknown cases in which WerFault accesses lsass.exe"
events:
$process.metadata.event_type = "PROCESS_OPEN"
re.regex($process.target.process.file.full_path, `\\lsass\.exe$`) nocase
re.regex($process.principal.process.file.full_path, `\\werfault\.exe$`) nocase
$process.target.resource.name = "0x1FFFFF" nocase
$process.principal.hostname = $hostname
match:
$hostname over 5m
outcome:
//example usage of specifying test hostname to adjust risk score
$risk_score = max(if($process.principal.hostname = "hostname", 0, 15))
$principal_process_pid = array_distinct($process.principal.process.pid)
$principal_process_command_line = array_distinct($process.principal.process.command_line)
$principal_process_file_sha256 = array_distinct($process.principal.process.file.sha256)
$principal_process_file_full_path = array_distinct($process.principal.process.file.full_path)
$principal_process_product_specfic_process_id = array_distinct($process.principal.process.product_specific_process_id)
$principal_process_parent_process_product_specfic_process_id = array_distinct($process.principal.process.parent_process.product_specific_process_id)
$target_process_pid = array_distinct($process.target.process.pid)
$target_process_command_line = array_distinct($process.target.process.command_line)
$target_process_file_sha256 = array_distinct($process.target.process.file.sha256)
$target_process_file_full_path = array_distinct($process.target.process.file.full_path)
$target_process_product_specfic_process_id = array_distinct($process.target.process.product_specific_process_id)
$log_type = array_distinct(strings.concat($process.metadata.log_type,"/",$process.metadata.product_event_type))
condition:
$process
}
YARA-L rule structure
Condition
Fires when at least one $process event in the 5m window.
Events
$process
target.process.file.full_path matches "\\lsass\.exe$"principal.process.file.full_path matches "\\werfault\.exe$"target.resource.name = "0x1FFFFF"
Match and correlation
Outcome
Outcome variables add context to a detection. When the rule generates an alert, $risk_score is displayed with it.
| Field | Expression |
|---|---|
risk_score | max(if($process.principal.hostname = "hostname", 0, 15)) |
principal_process_pid | array_distinct($process.principal.process.pid) |
principal_process_command_line | array_distinct($process.principal.process.command_line) |
principal_process_file_sha256 | array_distinct($process.principal.process.file.sha256) |
principal_process_file_full_path | array_distinct($process.principal.process.file.full_path) |
principal_process_product_specfic_process_id | array_distinct($process.principal.process.product_specific_process_id) |
principal_process_parent_process_product_specfic_process_id | array_distinct($process.principal.process.parent_process.product_specific_process_id) |
target_process_pid | array_distinct($process.target.process.pid) |
target_process_command_line | array_distinct($process.target.process.command_line) |
target_process_file_sha256 | array_distinct($process.target.process.file.sha256) |
target_process_file_full_path | array_distinct($process.target.process.file.full_path) |
target_process_product_specfic_process_id | array_distinct($process.target.process.product_specific_process_id) |
log_type | array_distinct(strings.concat($process.metadata.log_type,"/",$process.metadata.product_event_type)) |