Create a Registry Query - Administrator Guide - Cortex XDR - Cortex - Security Operations

Cortex XDR Pro Administrator Guide

Product
Cortex XDR
License
Pro
Creation date
2023-10-31
Last date published
2024-03-18
Category
Administrator Guide
Abstract

Create a query to investigate connections between registry activity, processes, and endpoints.

From the Query Builder you can investigate connections between registry activity, processes, and endpoints.

Some examples of a registry query you can run include:

  • Modified registry keys on specific endpoints.

  • Registry keys related to process activity that exist on specific endpoints.

To build a registry query:

  1. From Cortex XDR , select INVESTIGATIONQuery Builder.

  2. Select REGISTRY.

  3. Enter the search criteria for the registry events query.

    • Registry action—Select the type or types of registry actions you want to search: Key Create, Key Delete, Key Rename, Value Set, or Value Delete.

    • Registry attributes—Define any additional registry attributes for which you want to search. By default, Cortex XDR will return the events that match the attribute you specify. To exclude an attribute value, toggle the = option to =!. Attributes are:

      • KEY NAME—Registry key name.

      • DATA—Registry key data value.

      • KEY PREVIOUS NAME—Name of the registry key before modification.

      • VALUE NAME—Registry value name.

      To specify an additional exception (match this value except), click the + to the right of the value and specify the exception value.

  4. (Optional) To limit the scope to a specific source, click the + to the right of the value and specify the exception value.

    Specify one or more attributes for the source.

    Use a pipe (|) to separate multiple values. Use an asterisk (*) to match any string of characters.

    • NAME—Name of the parent process.

    • PATH—Path to the parent process.

    • CMD—Command-line used to initiate the process including any arguments, up to 128 characters.

    • MD5—MD5 hash value of the process.

    • SHA256—SHA256 hash value of the process.

    • USER NAME—User who executed the process.

    • SIGNATURE—Signing status of the parent process: Signature Unavailable, Signed, Invalid Signature, Unsigned, Revoked, Signature Fail.

    • SIGNER—Entity that signed the certificate of the parent process.

    • PID—Process ID of the parent process.

    • Run search for process, Causality, and OS actors—The causality actor—also referred to as the causality group owner (CGO)—is the parent process in the execution chain that the Cortex XDR agent identified as being responsible for initiating the process tree. The OS actor is the parent process that creates an OS process on behalf of a different indicator. By default, this option is enabled to apply the same search criteria to initiating processes. To configure different attributes for the parent or initiate the process, clear this option.

  5. (Optional) Limit the scope to an endpoint or endpoint attributes:

    Specify one or more of the following attributes: Use a pipe (|) to separate multiple values.

    Use an asterisk (*) to match any string of characters.

    • HOSTHOST NAME, HOST IP address, HOST OS, HOST MAC ADDRESS, or INSTALLATION TYPE.

    • INSTALLATION TYPE can be either Cortex XDR agent or Data Collector.

    • PROCESSNAME, PATH, CMD, MD5, SHA256, USER NAME, SIGNATURE, or PID.

  6. Specify the time period for which you want to search for events.

    Options are Last 24H (hours), Last 7D (days), Last 1M (month), or select a Custom time period.

  7. Choose when to run the query.

    Select the calendar icon to schedule a query to run on or before a specific date or Run to run the query immediately and view the results in the Query Center.

    While the query is running, you can always navigate away from the page and a notification is sent when the query completes. You can also Cancel the query or run a new query, where you have the option to Run only new query (cancel previous) or Run both queries.

  8. When you are ready, Visualize Query Results.