Detection rules › Splunk
Windows Credentials from Password Stores Chrome Extension Access
The following analytic detects non-Chrome processes attempting to access the Chrome extensions file. It leverages Windows Security Event logs, specifically event code 4663, to identify this behavior. This activity is significant because adversaries may exploit this file to extract sensitive information from the Chrome browser, posing a security risk. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized access to stored credentials and other sensitive data, potentially compromising the security of the affected system and broader network.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Discovery | T1012 Query Registry |
Event coverage
| Provider | Event ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Security-Auditing | 4663 | An attempt was made to access an object. |
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
search NOT process_path IN ("*:\\Windows\\explorer.exe", "*\\chrome.exe") EventCode=4663 object_file_path="*\\AppData\\Local\\Google\\Chrome\\User Data\\Default\\Local Extension Settings\\*"
Stage 2: stats
stats BY object_file_name, object_file_path, process_name, process_path, process_id, EventCode, dest
Stage 3: search
search
Stage 4: search
search
Stage 5: search
search `macro`
Exclusions
Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts — predicates this rule actively suppresses.
| Stage | Field | Kind | Excluded values |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | process_name | in | "*:\\Windows\\explorer.exe", "*\\chrome.exe" |
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.
| Field | Kind | Values |
|---|---|---|
EventCode | eq |
|
object_file_path | eq |
|
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.
- Windows Credential Access From Browser Password Store (drops 2 filters this rule applies)