Detection rules › Elastic
Microsoft Office Process Setting Persistence via Startup
Identifies files written to or modified in the startup folder by a Microsoft Office process. Adversaries may use this technique to maintain persistence and avoid spawning suspicious child processes.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Initial Access | |
| Persistence |
Rule body
[rule]
description = """
Identifies files written to or modified in the startup folder by a Microsoft Office process. Adversaries may use this
technique to maintain persistence and avoid spawning suspicious child processes.
"""
id = "2b8ea430-897d-486c-85a8-add9d7072ff3"
license = "Elastic License v2"
name = "Microsoft Office Process Setting Persistence via Startup"
os_list = ["windows"]
version = "1.0.36"
query = '''
file where event.action != "deletion" and
file.path : ("?:\\Users\\*\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup\\*",
"?:\\ProgramData\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\StartUp\\*") and
process.name : ("EQNEDT32.EXE", "WINWORD.EXE", "EXCEL.EXE", "POWERPNT.EXE", "MSPUB.EXE") and
not file.extension : ("docx", "xls", "doc", "xlsx", "tmp", "xlsm") and file.name : "*.*"
'''
min_endpoint_version = "7.15.0"
[[actions]]
action = "kill_process"
field = "process.entity_id"
state = 0
[[optional_actions]]
action = "rollback"
field = "process.entity_id"
state = 0
[[threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
[[threat.technique]]
id = "T1566"
name = "Phishing"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1566/"
[[threat.technique.subtechnique]]
id = "T1566.001"
name = "Spearphishing Attachment"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1566/001/"
[threat.tactic]
id = "TA0001"
name = "Initial Access"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0001/"
[[threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
[[threat.technique]]
id = "T1547"
name = "Boot or Logon Autostart Execution"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1547/"
[[threat.technique.subtechnique]]
id = "T1547.001"
name = "Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1547/001/"
[threat.tactic]
id = "TA0003"
name = "Persistence"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0003/"
[internal]
min_endpoint_version = "7.15.0"
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: file
file where event.action != "deletion" and
file.path : ("?:\\Users\\*\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup\\*",
"?:\\ProgramData\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\StartUp\\*") and
process.name : ("EQNEDT32.EXE", "WINWORD.EXE", "EXCEL.EXE", "POWERPNT.EXE", "MSPUB.EXE") and
not file.extension : ("docx", "xls", "doc", "xlsx", "tmp", "xlsm") and file.name : "*.*"
Exclusions
The rule actively suppresses these predicates.
| Field | Kind | Excluded values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
file.extension | eq | docx, xls, doc, xlsx, tmp, xlsm | excludes:file.extension |
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
event.action | ne |
| field:"EventType" kind:ne value:"deletion" |
file.name | wildcard |
| field:"file.name" kind:wildcard value:"*.*" |
file.path | wildcard |
| field:"TargetFilename" kind:wildcard |
process.name | wildcard |
| field:"process_name" kind:wildcard |