splunk-security_content/docs/_posts/2020-12-08-shim_database_file_creation.md

title, excerpt, categories, last_modified_at, toc, toc_label, tags

title	excerpt	categories	last_modified_at	toc	toc_label	tags
Shim Database File Creation	Application Shimming, Event Triggered Execution	Endpoint	2020-12-08	true		Application Shimming Privilege Escalation Persistence Event Triggered Execution Privilege Escalation Persistence Splunk Enterprise Splunk Enterprise Security Splunk Cloud

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Description

This search looks for shim database files being written to default directories. The sdbinst.exe application is used to install shim database files (.sdb). According to Microsoft, a shim is a small library that transparently intercepts an API, changes the parameters passed, handles the operation itself, or redirects the operation elsewhere.

• Type: TTP
• Product: Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk Cloud
• Datamodel:
• Last Updated: 2020-12-08
• Author: David Dorsey, Splunk
• ID: 6e4c4588-ba2f-42fa-97e6-9f6f548eaa33

ATT&CK

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1546.011	Application Shimming	Privilege Escalation, Persistence

| T1546 | Event Triggered Execution | Privilege Escalation, Persistence |

Search

| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count values(Filesystem.action) values(Filesystem.file_hash) as file_hash values(Filesystem.file_path) as file_path  min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Filesystem where Filesystem.file_path=*Windows\\AppPatch\\Custom* by Filesystem.file_name Filesystem.dest 
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
|`drop_dm_object_name(Filesystem)` 
| `shim_database_file_creation_filter`

Associated Analytic Story

• Windows Persistence Techniques

How To Implement

You must be ingesting data that records the filesystem activity from your hosts to populate the Endpoint file-system data model node. If you are using Sysmon, you will need a Splunk Universal Forwarder on each endpoint from which you want to collect data.

Required field

• _time
• Filesystem.file_hash
• Filesystem.file_path
• Filesystem.file_name
• Filesystem.dest

Kill Chain Phase

• Actions on Objectives

Known False Positives

Because legitimate shim files are created and used all the time, this event, in itself, is not suspicious. However, if there are other correlating events, it may warrant further investigation.

RBA

Risk Score	Impact	Confidence	Message
56.0	70	80	A process that possibly write shim database in file_path in host dest

Reference

Test Dataset

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

• https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1546.011/atomic_red_team/windows-sysmon.log

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