Detection rules › Splunk

Windows AppX Deployment Full Trust Package Installation

Author
Michael Haag, Splunk
Source
upstream

The following analytic detects the installation of MSIX/AppX packages with full trust privileges. This detection leverages Windows event logs from the AppXDeployment-Server, specifically focusing on EventCode 400 which indicates a package deployment operation. Full trust packages are significant as they run with elevated privileges outside the normal AppX container restrictions, allowing them to access system resources that regular AppX packages cannot. Adversaries have been observed leveraging full trust MSIX packages to deliver malware, as documented in recent threat intelligence reports. If confirmed malicious, these packages could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, establish persistence, or deliver malware while evading traditional detection mechanisms.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

TacticTechniques
ExecutionT1204.002 User Execution: Malicious File
Defense EvasionT1553.005 Subvert Trust Controls: Mark-of-the-Web Bypass

Event coverage

ProviderEvent IDTitle
AppXDeployment-Server400Deployment DeploymentOperation operation with target volume MountPoint on Package PackageFullName from: Path finished successfully.

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: search

search EventCode=400 HasFullTrust="true"

Stage 2: stats

stats BY dvc, EventCode, HasFullTrust, user_id

Stage 3: rename

rename

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
EventCodeeq
  • 400
HasFullTrusteq
  • "true"