Detection rules › Splunk

Windows SQL Server Configuration Option Hunt

Author
Michael Haag, Splunk, sidoyle from Splunk Community
Source
upstream

This detection helps hunt for changes to SQL Server configuration options that could indicate malicious activity. It monitors for modifications to any SQL Server configuration settings, allowing analysts to identify potentially suspicious changes that may be part of an attack, such as enabling dangerous features or modifying security-relevant settings.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

TacticTechniques
PersistenceT1505.001 Server Software Component: SQL Stored Procedures

Event coverage

ProviderEvent IDTitle
MSSQLSERVER15457

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: search

search EventCode=15457

Stage 2: rex

rex field=EventData_Xml ...

Stage 3: rename

rename

Stage 4: eval

eval ... using (new_value, old_value)

Stage 5: eval

eval ... using (change_type)

Stage 6: eval

eval ... using (change_type, config_name, dest)

Stage 7: stats

stats BY dest, EventCode, config_name, change_type, risk_message, risk_score

Stage 8: search

search

Stage 9: search

search

Stage 10: 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
  • 15457 corpus 3 (splunk 3)