Unusual Windows Path Activity

Identifies processes started from atypical folders in the file system, which might indicate malware execution or persistence mechanisms. In corporate Windows environments, software installation is centrally managed and it is unusual for programs to be executed from user or temporary directories. Processes executed from these locations can denote that a user downloaded software directly from the Internet or a malicious script or macro executed malware.

Rule type: machine_learning

Rule indices: None

Severity: low

Risk score: 21

Runs every: 15m

Searches indices from: now-45m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time)

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

References:

https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/security/current/prebuilt-ml-jobs.html

Tags:

Domain: Endpoint
OS: Windows
Use Case: Threat Detection
Rule Type: ML
Rule Type: Machine Learning
Tactic: Persistence
Tactic: Execution

Version: 207

Rule authors:

Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Setup

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Setup

This rule requires the installation of associated Machine Learning jobs, as well as data coming in from one of the following integrations: - Elastic Defend - Windows

Anomaly Detection Setup

Once the rule is enabled, the associated Machine Learning job will start automatically. You can view the Machine Learning job linked under the "Definition" panel of the detection rule. If the job does not start due to an error, the issue must be resolved for the job to commence successfully. For more details on setting up anomaly detection jobs, refer to the helper guide.

Elastic Defend Integration Setup

Elastic Defend is integrated into the Elastic Agent using Fleet. Upon configuration, the integration allows the Elastic Agent to monitor events on your host and send data to the Elastic Security app.

Prerequisite Requirements:

Fleet is required for Elastic Defend.
To configure Fleet Server refer to the documentation.

The following steps should be executed in order to add the Elastic Defend integration to your system:

Go to the Kibana home page and click "Add integrations".
In the query bar, search for "Elastic Defend" and select the integration to see more details about it.
Click "Add Elastic Defend".
Configure the integration name and optionally add a description.
Select the type of environment you want to protect, either "Traditional Endpoints" or "Cloud Workloads".
Select a configuration preset. Each preset comes with different default settings for Elastic Agent, you can further customize these later by configuring the Elastic Defend integration policy. Helper guide.
We suggest selecting "Complete EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response)" as a configuration setting, that provides "All events; all preventions"
Enter a name for the agent policy in "New agent policy name". If other agent policies already exist, you can click the "Existing hosts" tab and select an existing policy instead. For more details on Elastic Agent configuration settings, refer to the helper guide.
Click "Save and Continue".
To complete the integration, select "Add Elastic Agent to your hosts" and continue to the next section to install the Elastic Agent on your hosts. For more details on Elastic Defend refer to the helper guide.

Windows Integration Setup

The Windows integration allows you to monitor the Windows OS, services, applications, and more.

The following steps should be executed in order to add the Elastic Agent System integration "windows" to your system:

Go to the Kibana home page and click “Add integrations”.
In the query bar, search for “Windows” and select the integration to see more details about it.
Click “Add Windows”.
Configure the integration name and optionally add a description.
Review optional and advanced settings accordingly.
Add the newly installed “windows” to an existing or a new agent policy, and deploy the agent on your system from which windows log files are desirable.
Click “Save and Continue”.
For more details on the integration refer to the helper guide.

Framework: MITRE ATT&CK^TM

Tactic:
- Name: Persistence
- ID: TA0003
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0003/
Technique:
- Name: Create or Modify System Process
- ID: T1543
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1543/
Sub-technique:
- Name: Windows Service
- ID: T1543.003
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1543/003/
Tactic:
- Name: Execution
- ID: TA0002
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0002/
Technique:
- Name: User Execution
- ID: T1204
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1204/
Sub-technique:
- Name: Malicious File
- ID: T1204.002
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1204/002/

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