Detection rules › Splunk

Disable Show Hidden Files

Author
Teoderick Contreras, Splunk, Steven Dick
Source
upstream

The following analytic detects modifications to the Windows registry that disable the display of hidden files. It leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model, specifically monitoring changes to registry paths associated with hidden file settings. This activity is significant because malware, such as worms and trojan spyware, often use hidden files to evade detection. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to conceal malicious files on the system, making it harder for security tools and analysts to identify and remove the threat.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

TacticTechniques
PersistenceT1112 Modify Registry
Defense EvasionT1112 Modify Registry, T1562.001 Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools, T1564.001 Hide Artifacts: Hidden Files and Directories

Event coverage

ProviderEvent IDTitle
Sysmon13RegistryEvent (Value Set)

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: tstats

tstats WHERE ((Registry.registry_path="*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced\\HideFileExt" Registry.registry_value_data="0x00000001") OR (Registry.registry_path="*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced\\ShowSuperHidden" Registry.registry_value_data="0x00000000") OR Registry.registry_path="*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced\\Hidden") BY Registry.action, Registry.dest, Registry.process_guid, Registry.process_id, Registry.registry_hive, Registry.registry_path, Registry.registry_key_name, Registry.registry_value_data, Registry.registry_value_name, Registry.registry_value_type, Registry.status, Registry.user, Registry.vendor_product

Stage 2: search

search

Stage 3: where

where isnotnull(registry_value_data)

Stage 4: search

search

Stage 5: search

search

Stage 6: search

search `macro`

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.

FieldKindValues
Registry.registry_patheq
  • "*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced\\Hidden"
  • "*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced\\HideFileExt"
  • "*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Advanced\\ShowSuperHidden"
Registry.registry_value_dataeq
  • "0x00000000" corpus 27 (splunk 27)
  • "0x00000001" corpus 42 (splunk 42)