Modify Registry Key (Windows Event Log)

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

Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to hide configuration information within Registry keys, remove information as part of cleaning up, or as part of other techniques to aid in persistence and execution

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Persistence	`T1112` Modify Registry
Defense Impairment	`T1112` Modify Registry

References

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Security-Auditing	Event ID 4657	A registry value was modified.

Rule body yaml

id: '8335.10406'
title: Modify Registry Key
description: 'Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to hide configuration
  information within Registry keys, remove information as part of cleaning up, or
  as part of other techniques to aid in persistence and execution. Threat Actor Association:
  APT27/Emissary Panda, APT29/Nobelium, APT30, APT41, APT43, Flax Typhoon, InvisiMole,
  Kimsuky, Lazarus, MuddyWater, RedEyes, REvil, Velvet Cholllima -- Software Association:
  Avos, BabyShark, BadRabbit, BianLian, BlackByte, DarkWatchman, Dharma, Dridex, Karius,
  Koxic, LockBit, Play, QBot/Qakbot, Ransom Cartel, SunBurst, Trojan.Killdisk/HermeticWiper,
  Trigona, Ursnif, VawTrack'
logic_format: Splunk
logic: '`get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_winevent` (TERM(EventCode=4657) OR
  "<EventID>4657<") Operation_Type="Existing registry value modified" | table _time,
  host, user parent_*, process, process_*, signature_id, Object_*, Operation_*, New_*,
  Old_*| eval note=Object_Name | bin span=1s | stats values(*) as * by _time, host
  | fields - Operation_*, New_*, Old_* `hec_collect`'
techniques:
- defense-evasion:modify registry
technique_id: 
- T1112
data_category:
- File monitoring
- Windows event logs
references:
- https://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/poweliks-malware-hides-in-windows-registry/
- https://www.netwrix.com/how_to_detect_modification_to_startup_items.html
- https://static1.squarespace.com/static/552092d5e4b0661088167e5c/t/5d497aefe58b7e00011f6947/1565096688890/Windows+Registry+Auditing+Cheat+Sheet+ver+Aug+2019.pdf

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `search`

`get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_winevent` (TERM(EventCode=4657) OR "<EventID>4657<") Operation_Type="Existing registry value modified"

Stage 2: `table`

| table _time, host, user parent_*, process, process_*, signature_id, Object_*, Operation_*, New_*, Old_*

Stage 3: `eval`

| eval note=Object_Name

Stage 4: `bucket`

| bin span=1s

Stage 5: `stats`

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

Stage 6: `fields`

| fields - Operation_*, New_*, Old_* `hec_collect`

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	`4657` corpus 17 (splunk 14, kusto 3)
`Operation_Type`	eq	`"Existing registry value modified"`

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>4657<"`

`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)

Modify Registry Key (Windows Event Log)

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

References

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `search`

Stage 2: `table`

Stage 3: `eval`

Stage 4: `bucket`

Stage 5: `stats`

Stage 6: `fields`

Indicators

Search terms

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Modify Registry Key (Windows Event Log)

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

References

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: search

Stage 2: table

Stage 3: eval

Stage 4: bucket

Stage 5: stats

Stage 6: fields

Indicators

Search terms

Stage 1: `search`

Stage 2: `table`

Stage 3: `eval`

Stage 4: `bucket`

Stage 5: `stats`

Stage 6: `fields`