Detection rules › Sigma
Event log clear attempt (command)
Detects scenarios where an attacker attempts to clear the event logs.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Stealth | T1070.001 Indicator Removal: Clear Windows Event Logs |
Event coverage
| Provider | Event | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Sysmon | Event ID 1 | Process creation |
| Security-Auditing | Event ID 4688 | A new process has been created. |
Rule body yaml
title: Event log clear attempt (command)
description: Detects scenarios where an attacker attempts to clear the event logs.
references:
- https://github.com/mdecrevoisier/EVTX-to-MITRE-Attack/tree/master/TA0005-Defense%20Evasion/T1070.001-Clear%20Windows%20event%20logs
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/wevtutil
- https://www.zscaler.com/blogs/security-research/technical-analysis-crytox-ransomware
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2022/06/13/the-many-lives-of-blackcat-ransomware/
- https://www.elastic.co/security-labs/invisible-miners-unveiling-ghostengine
tags:
- attack.defense_evasion
- attack.t1070.001
author: mdecrevoisier
status: experimental
logsource:
product: windows
category: process_creation
detection: # Full command: wevtutil el | Foreach-Object {Write-Host "Clearing $_"; wevtutil cl "$_"}
selection:
NewProcessName|endswith: '\wevtutil.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- 'clear-log'
- cl # reduced command
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- None
level: high
Stages and Predicates
Stage 0: condition
selectionStage 1: selection
selection:
NewProcessName|endswith: '\wevtutil.exe'
CommandLine|contains:
- 'clear-log'
- cl
Indicators
Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.
| Field | Kind | Values |
|---|---|---|
CommandLine | match |
|
NewProcessName | ends_with |
|