Detection rules › Splunk
Windows Credentials from Password Stores Chrome Login Data Access
The following analytic identifies non-Chrome processes accessing the Chrome user data file "login data." This file is an SQLite database containing sensitive information, including saved passwords. The detection leverages Windows Security Event logs, specifically event code 4663, to monitor access attempts. This activity is significant as it may indicate attempts by threat actors to extract and decrypt stored passwords, posing a risk to user credentials. If confirmed malicious, attackers could gain unauthorized access to sensitive accounts and escalate their privileges within the environment.
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\\System32\\dllhost.exe", "*:\\Windows\\explorer.exe", "*\\chrome.exe") EventCode=4663 object_file_path="*\\AppData\\Local\\Google\\Chrome\\User Data\\Default\\Login Data"
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\\System32\\dllhost.exe", "*:\\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)