Locate Credentials (Windows Event Log)

Group by: _time, command_line, host
Source: github.com/anvilogic-forge/armory

Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing passwords. These can be files created by users to store their own credentials, shared credential stores for a group of individuals, configuration files containing passwords for a system or service, or source code/binary files containing embedded passwords

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Credential Access	`T1552.001` Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files

References

https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1552/001/

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Security-Auditing	Event ID 4688	A new process has been created.

Rule body yaml

id: '1081.1130'
title: Locate Credentials
description: 'Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for
  files containing passwords. These can be files created by users to store their own
  credentials, shared credential stores for a group of individuals, configuration
  files containing passwords for a system or service, or source code/binary files
  containing embedded passwords. -- Threat Actor Association: Alloy Taurus/Gallium,
  Antlion, APT15, APT29/Nobelium/Cozy Bear, DarkSide, BlackMatter, Lancyfly, Lapsus$,
  TeamTNT, Wizard Spider - Software Association: ALPHV/BlackCat, Conti, Ransom Cartel,
  Snake, TeamTNT -- Atomics 1003.002 Test #5 NOTE *Only for the Powershell version
  Atomics T1552.001 Test#1 Atomics T1552.001 Test#3 Atomics T1552.006 Test#1 Atomics
  T1552.004 Test#2'
logic_format: Splunk
logic: '`get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_winevent` (TERM(EventCode=4688) OR
  "<EventID>4688<") AND (TERM(findstr) AND (TERM(password) OR TERM(txt) OR TERM(ini)
  OR TERM(xml) OR TERM(pass) OR TERM(cred) OR TERM(vnc) OR TERM(config) OR TERM(spin)
  )) OR (TERM(type) AND (TERM(sysprep) OR TERM(unattend) OR TERM(Unattended)) AND
  (TERM(inf) OR TERM(ini) OR TERM(xml))) OR (TERM(dir) AND (TERM(vnc) OR TERM(ultravnc))
  AND (TERM(inf) OR TERM(ini) OR TERM(xml))) OR ((TERM(cmd) AND TERM(/c) AND TERM(copy))
  AND ("ntds.dit" OR TERM(SAM) OR TERM(System) )) OR (TERM(vssadmin) AND TERM(create)
  AND TERM(SHADOW)) OR (TERM(ntdsutil)) OR ("Wmic" TERM(shadowcopy)) | table _time,
  host, user, process, process_*, parent_*, signature_id | bin span=300s | stats values(*)
  as * by _time, host | stats values(*) as * by _time, host| eventstats dc(host) as
  dc_host by process| eventstats count as c_process by process| where dc_host=1 and
  c_process<3 '
techniques:
- credential-access:unsecured credentials:credentials in files
technique_id:
- T1552.001
data_category:
- Windows event logs
references:
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1552/001/

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `search`

`get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_winevent` (TERM(EventCode=4688) OR "<EventID>4688<") AND (TERM(findstr) AND (TERM(password) OR TERM(txt) OR TERM(ini) OR TERM(xml) OR TERM(pass) OR TERM(cred) OR TERM(vnc) OR TERM(config) OR TERM(spin) )) OR (TERM(type) AND (TERM(sysprep) OR TERM(unattend) OR TERM(Unattended)) AND (TERM(inf) OR TERM(ini) OR TERM(xml))) OR (TERM(dir) AND (TERM(vnc) OR TERM(ultravnc)) AND (TERM(inf) OR TERM(ini) OR TERM(xml))) OR ((TERM(cmd) AND TERM(/c) AND TERM(copy)) AND ("ntds.dit" OR TERM(SAM) OR TERM(System) )) OR (TERM(vssadmin) AND TERM(create) AND TERM(SHADOW)) OR (TERM(ntdsutil)) OR ("Wmic" TERM(shadowcopy))

Stage 2: `table`

| table _time, host, user, process, process_*, parent_*, signature_id

Stage 3: `bucket`

| bin span=300s

Stage 4: `stats`

| stats values(*) as * by _time, host

Stage 5: `stats`

| stats values(*) as * by _time, host

Stage 6: `eventstats`

| eventstats dc(host) as dc_host by process

Stage 7: `eventstats`

| eventstats count as c_process by process

Stage 8: `where`

| where dc_host=1 and c_process<3

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
`EventCode`	eq	`4688` corpus 313 (splunk 283, kusto 30)
`c_process`	lt	`3` corpus 5 (splunk 5)
`dc_host`	eq	`1` corpus 6 (splunk 6)

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>4688<"`
1	`TERM`
1	`findstr`
1	`TERM`
1	`password`
1	`TERM`
1	`txt`
1	`TERM`
1	`ini`
1	`TERM`
1	`xml`
1	`TERM`
1	`pass`
1	`TERM`
1	`cred`
1	`TERM`
1	`vnc`
1	`TERM`
1	`config`
1	`TERM`
1	`spin`
1	`TERM`
1	`type`
1	`TERM`
1	`sysprep`
1	`TERM`
1	`unattend`
1	`TERM`
1	`Unattended`
1	`TERM`
1	`inf`
1	`TERM`
1	`ini`
1	`TERM`
1	`xml`
1	`TERM`
1	`dir`
1	`TERM`
1	`vnc`
1	`TERM`
1	`ultravnc`
1	`TERM`
1	`inf`
1	`TERM`
1	`ini`
1	`TERM`
1	`xml`
1	`TERM`
1	`cmd`
1	`"/c"`
1	`TERM`
1	`copy`
1	`"ntds.dit"`
1	`TERM`
1	`SAM`
1	`TERM`
1	`System`
1	`TERM`
1	`vssadmin`
1	`TERM`
1	`create`
1	`TERM`
1	`SHADOW`
1	`TERM`
1	`ntdsutil`
1	`"Wmic"`
1	`TERM`
1	`shadowcopy`

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)

Locate Credentials (Windows Event Log)

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

References

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `search`

Stage 2: `table`

Stage 3: `bucket`

Stage 4: `stats`

Stage 5: `stats`

Stage 6: `eventstats`

Stage 7: `eventstats`

Stage 8: `where`

Indicators

Search terms

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Locate Credentials (Windows Event Log)

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

References

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: search

Stage 2: table

Stage 3: bucket

Stage 4: stats

Stage 5: stats

Stage 6: eventstats

Stage 7: eventstats

Stage 8: where

Indicators

Search terms

Stage 1: `search`

Stage 2: `table`

Stage 3: `bucket`

Stage 4: `stats`

Stage 5: `stats`

Stage 6: `eventstats`

Stage 7: `eventstats`

Stage 8: `where`