Office Application Startup - Office Test

Hunt Hypothesis

Detects the addition of office test registry that allows a user to specify an arbitrary DLL that will be executed every time an Office application is started

Detection Rule

Sigma (Original)

title: Office Application Startup - Office Test
id: 3d27f6dd-1c74-4687-b4fa-ca849d128d1c
status: test
description: Detects the addition of office test registry that allows a user to specify an arbitrary DLL that will be executed every time an Office application is started
references:
    - https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-technical-walkthrough-office-test-persistence-method-used-in-recent-sofacy-attacks/
author: omkar72
date: 2020-10-25
modified: 2023-11-08
tags:
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.t1137.002
logsource:
    category: registry_event
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        TargetObject|contains: '\Software\Microsoft\Office test\Special\Perf'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Unlikely
level: medium

KQL (Azure Sentinel)

imRegistry
| where RegistryKey contains "\\Software\\Microsoft\\Office test\\Special\\Perf"

KQL (Microsoft 365 Defender)

DeviceRegistryEvents
| where RegistryKey contains "\\Software\\Microsoft\\Office test\\Special\\Perf"

Required Data Sources

False Positive Guidance

• Unlikely

MITRE ATT&CK Context

• Tactic: Persistence
• Technique: T1137.002 — T1137.002

References

• https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit42-technical-walkthrough-office-test-persistence-method-used-in-recent-sofacy-attacks/
• SigmaHQ Rule