Detection rules › Splunk
Possible Credential Dumping via Windows Network Providers (Windows Event Log)
A Network Provider is a Windows component that facilitates the connection, communication, and resource sharing between a system and a network. Threat actors can create a rogue Network Provider to capture or "dump" credentials by intercepting and logging network authentication requests, such as NPPSpy. This use case detects modifications to registry values for Network Providers
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Persistence | T1112 Modify Registry |
| Defense Impairment | T1112 Modify Registry |
| Credential Access | T1003 OS Credential Dumping |
References
- https://www.socinvestigation.com/credential-dumping-using-windows-network-providers-how-to-respond/
- https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/through-the-cortex-xdr-lens-uncovering-a-new-activity-group-targeting-governments-in-the-middle-east-and-africa/
- https://github.com/gtworek/PSBits/blob/master/PasswordStealing/NPPSpy/Get-NetworkProviders.ps1
Event coverage
| Provider | Event | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Security-Auditing | Event ID 4657 | A registry value was modified. |
| Security-Auditing | Event ID 4688 | A new process has been created. |
Rule body yaml
id: '20390.36161'
title: Possible Credential Dumping via Windows Network Providers
description: 'A Network Provider is a Windows component that facilitates the connection,
communication, and resource sharing between a system and a network. Threat actors
can create a rogue Network Provider to capture or "dump" credentials by intercepting
and logging network authentication requests, such as NPPSpy. This use case detects
modifications to registry values for Network Providers. Atomics T1003 Test #2'
logic_format: Splunk
logic: '`get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_winevent` ((TERM(EventCode=4688) OR
"<EventID>4688<" OR Type=Process ((TERM(reg) OR "reg.exe") TERM(add)) OR TERM(EventCode=4657)
OR "<EventID>4657<")) ("SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Services" "NetworkProvider")
OR "SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\NetworkProvider\\Order" | table _time, host,
user, process, process_*, parent_process_* | bin span=1s | stats values(*) as *
by _time, host '
techniques:
- defense-evasion:modify registry
- credential-access:os credential dumping
technique_id:
- T1112
- T1003
data_category:
- Process command-line parameters
- Windows event logs
references:
- https://www.socinvestigation.com/credential-dumping-using-windows-network-providers-how-to-respond/
- https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/security-operations/through-the-cortex-xdr-lens-uncovering-a-new-activity-group-targeting-governments-in-the-middle-east-and-africa/
- https://github.com/gtworek/PSBits/blob/master/PasswordStealing/NPPSpy/Get-NetworkProviders.ps1
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_winevent` ((TERM(EventCode=4688) OR "<EventID>4688<" OR Type=Process ((TERM(reg) OR "reg.exe") TERM(add)) OR TERM(EventCode=4657) OR "<EventID>4657<")) ("SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Services" "NetworkProvider") OR "SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\NetworkProvider\\Order"
Stage 2: table
| table _time, host, user, process, process_*, parent_process_*
Stage 3: bucket
| bin span=1s
Stage 4: 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.
| Field | Kind | Values |
|---|---|---|
EventCode | eq |
|
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 | reg |
| 1 | "reg.exe" |
| 1 | TERM |
| 1 | add |
| 1 | TERM |
| 1 | "<EventID>4657<" |
| 1 | "SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Services" |
| 1 | "NetworkProvider" |
| 1 | "SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\NetworkProvider\\Order" |