Detection rules › Splunk

Windows Bluetooth Service Installed From Uncommon Location

Author
Michael Haag, Splunk
Source
upstream

Identifies the creation of a Windows service named "BluetoothService" with a binary path in user-writable directories, particularly %AppData%\Bluetooth. This technique was observed in the Lotus Blossom Chrysalis backdoor campaign, where attackers created a service named "BluetoothService" pointing to a malicious binary (renamed Bitdefender Submission Wizard) in a hidden AppData directory. While legitimate Bluetooth services exist in Windows, they are system services with binaries in System32. Any BluetoothService created with a binary path in user directories (AppData, Temp, Downloads) is highly suspicious and indicates potential malware persistence.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

TacticTechniques
PersistenceT1543.003 Create or Modify System Process: Windows Service
Privilege EscalationT1543.003 Create or Modify System Process: Windows Service
Defense EvasionT1036 Masquerading

Event coverage

ProviderEvent IDTitle
Service-Control-Manager7045

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: search

search EventCode=7045 ImagePath IN ("*\\AppData\\*", "*\\ProgramData\\*", "*\\Temp\\*", "*\\Users\\*\\Bluetooth\\*") ServiceName IN ("Bluetooth Service", "BluetoothService")

Stage 2: stats

stats BY Computer, ServiceName, ImagePath, ServiceType, StartType, UserID

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
  • 7045 corpus 12 (splunk 12)
ImagePathin
  • "*\\AppData\\*"
  • "*\\ProgramData\\*"
  • "*\\Temp\\*"
  • "*\\Users\\*\\Bluetooth\\*"
ServiceNamein
  • "Bluetooth Service"
  • "BluetoothService"

Neighbors

Broader alternatives (more inclusive than this rule)

These rules match a superset of what this rule catches. They cover the same events plus more. Use them if you want wider coverage and can absorb more false positives.