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ATT&CK Technique

Office Test

T1137.002 · persistence

Adversaries may abuse the Microsoft Office "Office Test" Registry key to obtain persistence on a compromised system. An Office Test Registry location exists that allows a user to specify an arbitrary DLL that will be executed every time an Office application is started. This Registry key is thought to be used by Microsoft to load DLLs for testing and debugging purposes while developing Office applications.

This Registry key is not created by default during an Office installation. There exist user and global Registry keys for the Office Test feature, such as: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office test\Special\Perf HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office test\Special\Perf Adversaries may add this Registry key and specify a malicious DLL that will be executed whenever an Office application, such as Word or Excel, is started.

WindowsOffice Suite
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Actors Using This

1
russiaAPT28
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Atomic Tests

1
Executable Atomic Red Team test cases for exercising this technique in a lab. Copy a command, run it on the listed platform, confirm your detections fire.
powershellwindowsOffice Application Startup Test Persistence (HKCU)
Office Test Registry location exists that allows a user to specify an arbitrary DLL that will be executed every time an Office application is started. Key is used for debugging purposes. Not created by default & exist in HKCU & HKLM hives. 
$wdApp = New-Object -COMObject "Word.Application"
if(-not $wdApp.path.contains("Program Files (x86)"))  
{
  Write-Host "64-bit Office"
  reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office test\Special\Perf" /t REG_SZ /d "PathToAtomicsFolder\T1137.002\bin\officetest_x64.dll" /f       
}
else{
  Write-Host "32-bit Office"
  reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office test\Special\Perf" /t REG_SZ /d "PathToAtomicsFolder\T1137.002\bin\officetest_x86.dll" /f
}
Stop-Process -Name "WinWord" 
Start-Process "WinWord"
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Mitigations

2
MITRE ATT&CK mitigations - vendor-agnostic guidance for reducing exposure to this technique.
M1040Behavior Prevention on Endpoint

Behavior Prevention on Endpoint refers to the use of technologies and strategies to detect and block potentially malicious activities by analyzing the behavior of processes, files, API calls, and other endpoint events. Rather than relying solely on known signatures, this approach leverages heuristics, machine learning, and real-time monitoring to identify anomalous patterns indicative of an attack.

Suspicious Process Behavior
  • Implementation: Use Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tools to monitor and block processes exhibiting unusual behavior, such as privilege escalation attempts.
  • Use Case: An attacker uses a known vulnerability to spawn a privileged process from a user-level application. The endpoint tool detects the abnormal parent-child process relationship and blocks the action.
Unauthorized File Access
  • Implementation: Leverage Data Loss Prevention (DLP) or endpoint tools to block processes attempting to access sensitive files without proper authorization.
  • Use Case: A process tries to read or modify a sensitive file located in a restricted directory, such as /etc/shadow on Linux or the SAM registry hive on Windows. The endpoint tool identifies this anomalous behavior and prevents it.
Abnormal API Calls
  • Implementation: Implement runtime analysis tools to monitor API calls and block those associated with malicious activities.
  • Use Case: A process dynamically injects itself into another process to hijack its execution. The endpoint detects the abnormal use of APIs like OpenProcess and WriteProcessMemory and terminates the offending process.
Exploit Prevention
  • Implementation: Use behavioral exploit prevention tools to detect and block exploits attempting to gain unauthorized access.
  • Use Case: A buffer overflow exploit is launched against a vulnerable application. The endpoint detects the anomalous memory write operation and halts the process.
M1054Software Configuration

Software configuration refers to making security-focused adjustments to the settings of applications, middleware, databases, or other software to mitigate potential threats. These changes help reduce the attack surface, enforce best practices, and protect sensitive data.

Conduct a Security Review of Application Settings
  • Review the software documentation to identify recommended security configurations.
  • Compare default settings against organizational policies and compliance requirements.
Implement Access Controls and Permissions
  • Restrict access to sensitive features or data within the software.
  • Enforce least privilege principles for all roles and accounts interacting with the software.
Enable Logging and Monitoring
  • Configure detailed logging for key application events such as authentication failures, configuration changes, or unusual activity.
  • Integrate logs with a centralized monitoring solution, such as a SIEM.
Update and Patch Software Regularly
  • Ensure the software is kept up-to-date with the latest security patches to address known vulnerabilities.
  • Use automated patch management tools to streamline the update process.
Disable Unnecessary Features or Services
  • Turn off unused functionality or components that could introduce vulnerabilities, such as debugging interfaces or deprecated APIs.
Test Configuration Changes
  • Perform configuration changes in a staging environment before applying them in production.
  • Conduct regular audits to ensure that settings remain aligned with security policies.
Tools for Implementation Configuration Management Tools
  • Ansible: Automates configuration changes across multiple applications and environments.
  • Chef: Ensures consistent application settings through code-based configuration management.
  • Puppet: Automates software configurations and audits changes for compliance.
Security Benchmarking Tools
  • CIS-CAT: Provides benchmarks and audits for secure software configurations.
  • Aqua Security Trivy: Scans containerized applications for configuration issues.
Vulnerability Management Solutions
  • Nessus: Identifies misconfigurations and suggests corrective actions.
Logging and Monitoring Tools
  • Splunk: Aggregates and analyzes application logs to detect suspicious activity.
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Detection Coverage

1/6 layers
Coverage across standard detection surfaces. Rows marked none have no rule of that type mapped. Some are real blind spots worth closing; others are simply not applicable to this technique (e.g. YARA matches malware files, not network behaviour).
Behavioral / log (Sigma) 2
Analytics (MITRE CAR) none
Runtime / container (Falco) none
File / malware (YARA) none
Network (Suricata/Snort) none
Vuln scan (Nuclei) none
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Comply & Defend

NIST 800-53AC-06, AC-10, AC-14, AC-17, CM-02, CM-05, CM-06, SC-18, SC-44, SI-08
D3FEND3 defensive techniques
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