Query Details
name: Privilege Escalation, Persistence T1546.011 Application shimming via sdbinst.exe
description: Detects the usage of the utility sdbinst.exe that can set registry key for application shimming.
references: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1546/011/, https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2017/05/fin7-shim-databases-persistence.html
tags: privilege_escalation, persistence, t1546.011
search_query:
(DeviceProcessEvents
| where ProcessVersionInfoInternalFileName =~ "sdbinst.exe"
| where not(ProcessCommandLine has_all ("-m","-bg")) | where ProcessCommandLine != @"""sdbinst.exe"" -mm"
| where ProcessCommandLine !contains "iisexpressshim.sdb")
This query is searching for instances of the utility sdbinst.exe being used to set registry keys for application shimming. It excludes certain command line arguments and a specific shim database file. The purpose of this query is to detect potential privilege escalation and persistence techniques.

Ali Hussein
Released: December 27, 2023
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