Detection rules › Splunk
File_Folder Hidden - Windows (PowerShell)
This use case detects commands setting the hidden attribute to files or folders on Windows systems. This technique is used by threat actors to evade detection and conceal malicious files from regular view
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Defense Impairment | T1222.001 File and Directory Permissions Modification: Windows Permissions |
References
Event coverage
| Provider | Event | Title |
|---|---|---|
| PowerShell | Event ID 4103 | Payload Context: ContextInfo User Data: UserData. |
| PowerShell | Event ID 4104 | Creating Scriptblock text (MessageNumber of MessageTotal). |
Rule body yaml
id: '17782.29999'
title: File_Folder Hidden - Windows
description: 'This use case detects commands setting the hidden attribute to files
or folders on Windows systems. This technique is used by threat actors to evade
detection and conceal malicious files from regular view. Atomics T1222.001 Test
#4'
logic_format: Splunk
logic: '`get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_powershell` (TERM(EventCode=4103) OR
"<EventID>4103<" OR TERM(EventCode=4104) OR "<EventID>4104<") (TERM(attrib) OR TERM(attrib.exe))
"+h" | regex process="(?i)\s\+h\s+" | table _time, host, user parent_*, process,
process_* | bin span=1s | stats values(*) as * by _time, host '
techniques:
- defense-evasion:file and directory permissions modification:windows file and directory
permissions modification
technique_id:
- T1222.001
data_category:
- PowerShell logs
references:
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1222.001/T1222.001.md#atomic-test-4---attrib---hide-file
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_powershell` (TERM(EventCode=4103) OR "<EventID>4103<" OR TERM(EventCode=4104) OR "<EventID>4104<") (TERM(attrib) OR TERM(attrib.exe)) "+h"
Stage 2: regex
| regex process="(?i)\s\+h\s+"
Stage 3: table
| table _time, host, user parent_*, process, process_*
Stage 4: bucket
| bin span=1s
Stage 5: stats
| stats values(*) as * by _time, host
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.
Search terms
Bare-string tokens in the SPL search body. Splunk matches each token against _raw (the untyped raw event text) anywhere it appears, not against a specific field. These don't surface in the Indicators table because they aren't predicates on a known field.
| Stage | Term |
|---|---|
| 1 | TERM |
| 1 | "<EventID>4103<" |
| 1 | TERM |
| 1 | "<EventID>4104<" |
| 1 | TERM |
| 1 | attrib |
| 1 | TERM |
| 1 | attrib.exe |
| 1 | "+h" |