Skip to content
Threat Feed

January 2024 (30)

high advisory

Detection of Windows Defender Service Disabling via Registry Modification

This brief covers the detection of adversaries disabling Windows Defender services by modifying specific registry keys to set the 'Start' value to '0x00000004', indicating an attempt to evade detection and maintain persistence.

Windows Defender +3 defense-evasion persistence windows registry-abuse
2r
medium advisory

Kubernetes Admission Webhook Manipulation for Persistence and Defense Evasion

The rule detects creation, modification, or deletion of Kubernetes MutatingWebhookConfigurations or ValidatingWebhookConfigurations by non-system identities, allowing attackers to inject malicious sidecars, block security tooling, or exfiltrate pod specifications.

kubernetes persistence defense-evasion
2r 2t
medium advisory

Detection of Downloaded Shortcut Files

This rule detects potentially malicious .lnk shortcut files downloaded from outside the local network on Windows systems, which are commonly used in phishing campaigns.

Elastic Defend phishing lnk execution windows
2r 3t
medium advisory

Suspicious AWS SAML Activity Detection

This rule identifies suspicious SAML activity in AWS, such as AssumeRoleWithSAML and UpdateSAMLProvider events, which could indicate an attacker gaining backdoor access, escalating privileges, or establishing persistence.

AWS IAM +1 aws saml cloudtrail initial-access lateral-movement persistence privilege-escalation stealth
2r 3t
low advisory

Code Integrity - Unmet Signing Level Requirements

Windows Code Integrity events 3033 and 3034 indicate an attempted file load that failed to meet the configured signing level requirements, potentially due to revoked signatures or expired certificates, signaling a possible attempt to load unsigned or untrusted code.

Windows +1 codeintegrity execution
2r 1t
low advisory

Empty GitHub Page Threat Brief

This brief analyzes a GitHub page which appears to be a placeholder or error, containing no actionable threat intelligence data.

Okta initial-access placeholder
1r 1t
high advisory

FodHelper UAC Bypass Attempt

Detection of fodhelper.exe execution, which is known to exploit User Account Control (UAC) bypass by leveraging specific registry keys, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

Windows uac-bypass privilege-escalation fodhelper
2r 2t
medium advisory

Kubernetes Secret Access by Node or Pod Service Account

This rule detects Kubernetes audit events where a node or pod service account attempts to read secrets directly, which is often a sign of credential access.

kubernetes credential-access cloud
2r 1t
high advisory

M365 or Entra ID Identity Sign-in from a Suspicious Source

Correlates successful Entra ID or Microsoft 365 sign-in events with network security alerts based on the source IP address, indicating potential initial access from suspicious sources.

Microsoft 365 +1 cloud azure m365 entra-id initial-access
2r 1t
medium advisory

Netsh Used to Enable Network Discovery

Adversaries may use the `netsh.exe` command-line tool to enable Network Discovery via the Windows firewall, weakening host defenses and facilitating lateral movement by identifying other systems on the network.

Windows defense-evasion firewall lateral-movement
2r 1t
high advisory

Netty HttpClientCodec Response Desynchronization Vulnerability

The Netty HttpClientCodec is vulnerable to response desynchronization when configured with HTTP/1.1 pipelining, HEAD requests, and the server sends 1xx responses, leading to a response body from one request being parsed as another and potentially unsafe socket reuse.

netty-codec-http +1 netty http desynchronization vulnerability
2r
high advisory

Snipe-IT Privilege Escalation via API Permissions Assignment (CVE-2026-44832)

An authenticated user with limited 'users.edit' permissions can escalate their privileges to 'admin' in Snipe-IT versions before 8.4.1 by manipulating the permissions array in a PATCH request to the API, as tracked by CVE-2026-44832.

Snipe-IT privilege-escalation web-application api
2r 1t
medium advisory

User Added to Group with Conditional Access Policy Modification Access

An attacker adds a user to a privileged Azure Active Directory group with permissions to modify Conditional Access policies, potentially leading to privilege escalation, credential access, persistence, and defense impairment.

Azure Active Directory attack.privilege-escalation attack.credential-access attack.persistence attack.defense-impairment attack.t1548 attack.t1556
3r 4t
high advisory

Windows Defender SpyNet Reporting Disabled via Registry Modification

Attackers disable Windows Defender SpyNet reporting by modifying specific registry keys, preventing telemetry data from being sent and allowing malicious activities to go undetected.

Splunk Enterprise +3 windows registry_modification defender_evasion
2r
medium threat

Calendar 2 Mac App Store Application Mines Cryptocurrency

The 'Calendar 2' application, available on the official Mac App Store, was found to surreptitiously mine cryptocurrency on users' Macs, utilizing the 'xmr-stak' miner to mine Monero (XMR) and report mining operations to calendar.qbix.com.

Calendar 2 +1 cryptocurrency miner macos appstore
3r 1t
low advisory

Command Shell Activity Started via RunDLL32

Adversaries abuse RunDLL32, a legitimate Windows utility, to execute command shells (cmd.exe or PowerShell) for malicious purposes, bypassing security controls.

Windows rundll32 command-shell proxy-execution
2r 5t
critical advisory

YAFNET Pre-Handler Authorization Bypass Leads to SQL Injection

YAFNET's flawed authorization allows low-privileged users to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the `/Admin/RunSql` endpoint, potentially leading to data exfiltration, application modification, and denial-of-service.

YAFNET.Core sql-injection web-application vulnerability
2r 8t
high advisory

Potential Execution via FileFix Phishing Attack

This rule detects potential execution of Windows commands or downloaded files via the browser's dialog box, indicative of a phishing attack where victims are tricked into copying and pasting malicious commands.

Windows phishing execution
2r 6t
high advisory

AWS Account Brute-Force Detection

This brief describes a detection for AWS accounts experiencing a high number of failed authentication attempts within a short timeframe, potentially indicating a brute-force attack targeting the account.

AWS brute-force credential-access
2r 1t
high advisory

Browser Process Spawned from an Unusual Parent

Attackers may attempt credential theft by launching browsers (Chrome, Edge) with remote debugging, headless automation, or minimal arguments from an unusual parent process on Windows systems.

Edge +4 credential-access windows browser-exploitation
2r 1t
high advisory

Execution of File Written or Modified by Microsoft Office

This rule detects the creation and execution of executable files by Microsoft Office applications, which is often associated with malicious documents containing scripts or exploitation of Microsoft Office vulnerabilities, leading to the execution of arbitrary code.

WINWORD.EXE +8 execution ms_office file_creation malware
3r 3t
medium advisory

InstallUtil Process Making Network Connections for Defense Evasion

Detection of InstallUtil.exe making outbound network connections, which can indicate adversaries leveraging it to execute code and evade detection by proxying execution through a trusted system binary.

Elastic Defend +1 defense-evasion proxy-execution windows
2r 1t
high advisory

O365 Advanced Audit Disabled

Detection of O365 advanced audit being disabled for a specific user, potentially allowing attackers to operate with reduced risk of detection, leading to unauthorized data access, data exfiltration, or account compromise.

Office 365 +3 cloud o365 audit defense-evasion persistence
2r 1t
medium advisory

Outlook Security Settings Registry Modification

Attackers modify Outlook security settings via registry changes to enable malicious mail rules and bypass security controls, potentially leading to persistence and data compromise.

Microsoft Outlook persistence registry_modification outlook email
2r 1t
high advisory

Potential Fake CAPTCHA Phishing Attack via Command Line

This rule detects potential fake CAPTCHA phishing attacks on Windows systems where victims are tricked into copying and pasting malicious commands into the Windows Run dialog box.

Microsoft Defender XDR +2 phishing captcha social-engineering windows
2r 2t
high advisory

Windows Defender Context Menu Deletion Attempt

An attacker attempts to disable Windows Defender by deleting its context menu entry from the registry, a tactic often used by Remote Access Trojans (RATs) to impair defenses and facilitate further malicious activities.

Windows Defender defense-evasion registry-modification windows
2r 1t
high advisory

Windows Registry Modification to Disable Registry Tools

This analytic detects modifications to the Windows registry, specifically targeting the 'DisableRegistryTools' key, which is a common tactic used by malware for persistence and defense evasion by preventing the removal of malicious entries.

Windows +3 defense-evasion registry-modification persistence
2r 2t
high advisory

Windows Registry Modification to Disable Show Hidden Files

This analytic detects modifications to the Windows registry that disable the display of hidden files, a technique commonly used by malware to evade detection and conceal malicious activities.

Splunk Enterprise +2 defense-evasion registry-modification windows
2r 2t
medium advisory

Third-party Backup Files Deleted via Unexpected Process

This detection identifies the deletion of backup files by processes outside of the backup suite, specifically targeting Veritas and Veeam backups, which may indicate an attempt to prevent recovery from ransomware.

Elastic Defend +5 impact backup deletion ransomware
2r 2t
medium advisory

Windows Downdate Attack Registry Modification

The Windows Downdate attack involves modifying specific registry keys to force a Windows downgrade, enabling exploitation of older, vulnerable versions, which this detection identifies through monitoring for the creation or modification of the pending.xml file in unusual locations.

Splunk Enterprise +2 defense-evasion privilege-escalation windows registry-modification
2r 1t