338. Adversaries Change Windows Startup Folder Settings for Persistence

Hello everyone!

If you tired of common persistence mechanisms (just like me), this one is for you. Not a new one, but I don't see it very often.

So, according to the report, the adversary leveraged MuddyViper. The malware configures its installation directory as a Windows Startup folder, by setting the following registry values to %APPDATALOCAL%\Microsoft\Windows\PPBCompatCache\ManagerCache:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\Startup

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders\Startup

Worth building a hunt, right?

event_type: "registryvaluesetwin"

AND

reg_key_path: "shell folders\\startup"

AND NOT

reg_value_data: "programs\\startup"

See you tomorrow!

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