Detection rules › Splunk

Windows Disable Shutdown Button Through Registry

Author
Teoderick Contreras, Splunk, Steven Dick
Source
upstream

The following analytic detects suspicious registry modifications that disable the shutdown button on a user's logon screen. It leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model, specifically monitoring changes to registry paths associated with shutdown policies. This activity is significant because it is a tactic used by malware, particularly ransomware like KillDisk, to hinder system usability and prevent the removal of malicious changes. If confirmed malicious, this could impede system recovery efforts, making it difficult to restart the machine and remove other harmful modifications.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

TacticTechniques
PersistenceT1112 Modify Registry
Defense EvasionT1112 Modify Registry

Event coverage

ProviderEvent IDTitle
Sysmon13RegistryEvent (Value Set)

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: tstats

tstats WHERE ((Registry.registry_path="*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\Explorer\\NoClose" Registry.registry_value_data="0x00000001") OR (Registry.registry_path="*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\System\\shutdownwithoutlogon" Registry.registry_value_data="0x00000000")) 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\\Policies\\Explorer\\NoClose"
  • "*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\System\\shutdownwithoutlogon"
Registry.registry_value_dataeq
  • "0x00000000" corpus 27 (splunk 27)
  • "0x00000001" corpus 42 (splunk 42)