Unusual Startup Shell Folder Modification
Description
Identifies suspicious startup shell folder modifications. An adversary may attempt to change the default startup directory in order to bypass detections that monitor for suspicious file creation events in the default Windows Startup folder.
Query · eql
registry where
user.id like ("S-1-5-21*", "S-1-12-*") and process.executable != null and
registry.path : (
"HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\User Shell Folders\\Common Startup",
"HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Shell Folders\\Common Startup",
"HKEY_USERS\\*\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\User Shell Folders\\Startup",
"HKEY_USERS\\*\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Shell Folders\\Startup"
) and
registry.data.strings != null and
// Normal Startup Folder Paths
not registry.data.strings : (
"?:\\ProgramData\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup",
"%ProgramData%\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup",
"%USERPROFILE%\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup",
"?:\\Users\\*\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu\\Programs\\Startup",
"\\\\*"
) and
not process.executable :
("?:\\Windows\\explorer.exe",
"?:\\Windows\\System32\\regsvr32.exe",
"?:\\Windows\\System32\\runonce.exe",
"?:\\Windows\\System32\\svchost.exe")