Detection rules › Splunk
Non Chrome Process Accessing Chrome Default Dir
The following analytic detects a non-Chrome process accessing files in the Chrome user default folder. It leverages Windows Security Event logs, specifically event code 4663, to identify unauthorized access attempts. This activity is significant because the Chrome default folder contains sensitive user data such as login credentials, browsing history, and cookies. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could indicate an attempt to exfiltrate sensitive information, often associated with RATs, trojans, and advanced persistent threats like FIN7. Such access could lead to data theft and further compromise of the affected system.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Credential Access | T1555.003 Credentials from Password Stores: Credentials from Web Browsers |
Event coverage
| Provider | Event | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Security-Auditing | Event ID 4663 | An attempt was made to access an object. |
Rule body splunk
name: Non Chrome Process Accessing Chrome Default Dir
id: 81263de4-160a-11ec-944f-acde48001122
version: 18
creation_date: '2021-09-15'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: Anomaly
description: The following analytic detects a non-Chrome process accessing files in the Chrome user default folder. It leverages Windows Security Event logs, specifically event code 4663, to identify unauthorized access attempts. This activity is significant because the Chrome default folder contains sensitive user data such as login credentials, browsing history, and cookies. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could indicate an attempt to exfiltrate sensitive information, often associated with RATs, trojans, and advanced persistent threats like FIN7. Such access could lead to data theft and further compromise of the affected system.
data_source:
- Windows Event Log Security 4663
search: '`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4663 NOT (ProcessName IN ("*\\chrome.exe", "*\\explorer.exe", "*sql*", "*\\dllhost.exe")) ObjectName="*\\Google\\Chrome\\User Data\\Default*" | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by ObjectName ObjectType ProcessName AccessMask EventCode dest | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `non_chrome_process_accessing_chrome_default_dir_filter`'
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search, you must ingest Windows Security Event logs and track event code 4663. For 4663, enable "Audit Object Access" in Group Policy. Then check the two boxes listed for both "Success" and "Failure."
known_false_positives: other browser not listed related to chrome may catch by this rule.
references: []
drilldown_searches:
- name: View the detection results for - "$dest$"
search: '%original_detection_search% | search dest = "$dest$"'
earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
latest_offset: $info_max_time$
- name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"
search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
earliest_offset: 7d
latest_offset: "0"
intermediate_findings:
entities:
- field: dest
type: system
score: 20
message: a non chrome browser process $ProcessName$ accessing $ObjectName$
analytic_story:
- StealC Stealer
- CISA AA23-347A
- Phemedrone Stealer
- DarkGate Malware
- NjRAT
- Malicious Inno Setup Loader
- Salt Typhoon
- Remcos
- Warzone RAT
- Quasar RAT
- 3CX Supply Chain Attack
- AgentTesla
- FIN7
- SnappyBee
- RedLine Stealer
- Snake Keylogger
- China-Nexus Threat Activity
- Lokibot
- BlankGrabber Stealer
- VIP Keylogger
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
- T1555.003
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
tests:
- name: True Positive Test
attack_data:
- data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1555/non_chrome_process_accessing_chrome_default_dir/windows-xml.log
source: XmlWinEventLog:Security
sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
test_type: unit
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4663 NOT (ProcessName IN ("*\\chrome.exe", "*\\explorer.exe", "*sql*", "*\\dllhost.exe")) ObjectName="*\\Google\\Chrome\\User Data\\Default*"
Stage 2: stats
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by ObjectName ObjectType ProcessName AccessMask EventCode dest
Stage 3: search
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
Stage 4: search
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
Stage 5: search
| `non_chrome_process_accessing_chrome_default_dir_filter`
Exclusions
Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts: predicates this rule actively suppresses.
| Field | Kind | Excluded values |
|---|---|---|
ProcessName | in | "*\\chrome.exe", "*\\dllhost.exe", "*\\explorer.exe", "*sql*" |
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 |
|
ObjectName | eq |
|