WLS 3.7.22 is here! The latest version of SIEM, format, and protocol agnostic Windows event log forwarding with process creation metadata and user defined contextual information, now with LNK parsing, file system minifilter reporting, WBCL reporting, and sysmon configuration management!

CommandMonitor

• Added support for Windows 11 command history when cmd.exe is launched inside Windows Terminal

FileData

• Added LNK parsing and reporting
  • Processes launched from a shortcut, when the LNK field is requested, will have LNK details logged along with user-defined metadata

2022-09-26T12:07:18-05:00 host WLS_FileData: LogType=”WLS”, AccessTime=”2/23/2022 3:51:57 PM”, BaseFileName=”Configuration Manager Console.lnk”, CreationTime=”7/27/2021 2:33:52 AM”, CreationTime1=”2/23/2022 9:51:59 AM”, FileAttributes=”ARCHIVE”, FileDataName=”LNK”, FileName=”C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Microsoft Endpoint Manager\Configuration Manager\Configuration Manager Console.lnk”, HotKey=””, IconIndex=”0″, KnownFolder=”7c5a40ef-a0fb-4bfc-874a-c0f2e0b9fa8e”, LastAccessTime=”9/26/2022 12:06:41 PM”, LastWriteTime=”2/23/2022 9:51:59 AM”, Length=”1409″, LinkFlags=”HasLinkTargetIDList, HasLinkInfo, HasRelativePath, IsUnicode”, LinkInfoFlags=”VolumeIDAndLocalBasePath”, LocalBasePath=”C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Endpoint Manager\AdminConsole\bin\Microsoft.ConfigurationManagement.exe”, MacAddress=”F80DAC6E57E8″, MachineID=”host”, MD5=”D82ABC2B24AA63332BE73F80656AD31D”, PropertyStoreCount=”2″, RelativePath=”..\..\..\..\..\..\..\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Endpoint Manager\AdminConsole\bin\Microsoft.ConfigurationManagement.exe”, SHA1=”08F381B34236F9F12F62FEE6FF88B96D5B6DAEE0″, ShowCommand=”1″, SID=”S-1-5-18″, Size=”434544″, SpecialFolder=”ProgramFilesX86″, User=”NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM”, VolumeLabel=”Windows”, WLSKey=”11169″, WriteTime=”7/27/2021 2:33:52 AM”

Filters

• Added filter groups to ease management of related filters

LogFormats

• Added MACHINEGUID field
  • For use as a unique identifier such as a Splunk HEC channel
• Added “unix” date format
  • Useful for JSON logs with Splunk HEC

Logging

• Added file system minifilter logging
  • Enhanced output similar to fltmc.exe with file metadata
  • Example from “Windows Sandbox”
• Added LogUserChange parameter
  • Log when the user changes from parent to child process

LogRouting

• Added support for HTTP servers, including custom headers
• Added parameters to verify connections meet requirements
  • Useful when using HTTPS destinations and captive portals or other MITM scenarios are encountered

RemoteConfiguration

• Added parameters to support more destinations and formats
  • Useful when loading remote configuration from version control systems such as gitlab and other non-standard HTTP(s) sources
• Added sysmon configuration loading
  • The last sysmon configuration found when processing applicable rules will be applied

Windows Boot Configuration Log (WBCL) – New!

• Initial and periodic reporting of the WBCL

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If you’d like licensing or other information about WLS, send me a note via the contact form. WLS is currently available to US entities, but does require a signed license agreement.

WLS 3.7 is here! The latest version of vendor-agnostic Windows event log forwarding with process creation metadata and user defined contextual information, now with RemoteConfiguration for dynamic install-time and post-install settings management.

CertificateMonitor

• TPM SRKPUB information reported if available
• TPM information reported for EKCERT and EKNVCERT when TPM is selected as a store location to report. EKCERT may be overwritten and/or contain multiple certificates as configured by the organization/user. EKNVCERT should reflect the TPM provided certificate.  Examples:

2021-07-20T08:27:08-05:00 host WLS_CertificateMonitor: LogType=”WLS”, Archived=”False”, ChangeType=”Initial”, Critical=”1,2,3″, EnhancedKeyUsages=”Endorsement Key Certificate”, ExtensionCount=”9″, Extensions=”Authority Information Access,Key Usage,Subject Alternative Name,Basic Constraints,CRL Distribution Points,Certificate Policies,Authority Key Identifier,Enhanced Key Usage,Subject Directory Attributes”, HasPrivateKey=”False”, Issuer=”CN=Infineon OPTIGA(TM) TPM 2.0 RSA CA 042, OU=OPTIGA(TM), O=Infineon Technologies AG, C=DE”, KeyAlgorithm=”RSA”, KeyUsages=”KeyEncipherment”, NotAfter=”12/30/2034 7:05:45 AM”, NotBefore=”12/30/2019 7:05:45 AM”, PublicKeySize=”2048″, SerialNumber=”5FF96D85″, SHA1=”0D8C16C554A825CBEF8B880A4216851F0577724F”, SignatureAlgorithm=”sha256RSA”, StoreLocation=”TPM”, StoreName=”EKNVCERT“, Subject=”TPMVersion=id:0755, TPMModel=SLB 9670 TPM2.0, TPMManufacturer=id:49465800″, SubjectAlternativeName=”Directory Address:TPMVersion=id:0755, TPMModel=SLB 9670 TPM2.0, TPMManufacturer=id:49465800″, User=”Local Computer”, Version=”3″, WLSKey=”1079″

2021-07-20T08:27:07-05:00 host WLS_CertificateMonitor: LogType=”WLS”, Archived=”False”, ChangeType=”Initial”, Critical=”1,2,3″, EnhancedKeyUsages=”Endorsement Key Certificate”, ExtensionCount=”9″, Extensions=”Authority Information Access,Key Usage,Subject Alternative Name,Basic Constraints,CRL Distribution Points,Certificate Policies,Authority Key Identifier,Enhanced Key Usage,Subject Directory Attributes”, HasPrivateKey=”False”, Issuer=”CN=Infineon OPTIGA(TM) TPM 2.0 RSA CA 042, OU=OPTIGA(TM), O=Infineon Technologies AG, C=DE”, KeyAlgorithm=”RSA”, KeyUsages=”KeyEncipherment”, NewHash=”True”, NotAfter=”12/30/2034 7:05:45 AM”, NotBefore=”12/30/2019 7:05:45 AM”, PublicKeySize=”2048″, SerialNumber=”5FF96D85″, SHA1=”0D8C16C554A825CBEF8B880A4216851F0577724F”, SignatureAlgorithm=”sha256RSA”, StoreLocation=”TPM”, StoreName=”EKCERT“, Subject=”TPMVersion=id:0755, TPMModel=SLB 9670 TPM2.0, TPMManufacturer=id:49465800″, SubjectAlternativeName=”Directory Address:TPMVersion=id:0755, TPMModel=SLB 9670 TPM2.0, TPMManufacturer=id:49465800″, User=”Local Computer”, Version=”3″, WLSKey=”612″

CommandMonitor

• Supports Windows 10 14393 and later

Database

• Optional in-memory only log caching – intended reduce disk usage on temporal systems such as non-persistent VDI

FileMetadata enhancements

• PDB path can be reported
• File Attributes can be reported
• Optionally add a flag if the file is in a directory with case sensitivity enabled
• Process related fields can be reported – CreatorProcessName, IntegrityLevel, ParentProcessCommandLine
• “Rich” header information can be reported. Macro included in WLS App for Splunk to decode known values. References:
  • https://www.virusbulletin.com/uploads/pdf/magazine/2019/VB2019-Kalnai-Poslusny.pdf
  • http://bytepointer.com/articles/the_microsoft_rich_header.htm
  • https://ntcore.com/files/richsign.htm
  • https://securelist.com/the-devils-in-the-rich-header/84348/
  • Example showing process grouping by build order with IDE and product decoding
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• Zone fields added to the file alternate data stream during web downloads are reportable. Potentially includes HostIPAddress, HostURL, and ReferrerUrl.

Logging

• CPU affinity will be used to restrict the processors available to WLS when CPUAffinity or CPULimitCores is set
• Improved filter performance and added more options. WLS App for Splunk includes Filter Data dashboard
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• Event descriptions can be reported periodically (LogEventDescriptionInterval). WLS App for Splunk includes a scheduled search, lookup, and macro to build unique event descriptions and return them at search time.
• Process “tree” information can be reported. WLS App for Splunk contains dashboards for filtering and analysis.
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• Process ID fields present in logs can be resolved to a process name and reported as [ProcessIDField]Name

LogFormats

• HMAC can be added to logs for later integrity verification. Secret key is encrypted after being set. WLS App for Splunk includes setup and macro for verification.

LogRouting

• Logs can be output to a text file at a user defined destination
  • This can be the primary output, or a parallel output to other destinations

NamedPipeMonitor

• Enhanced filtering options
• Improved filtering performance

Print Monitor – New!

• Log print jobs processed through the local print spooler

Process / MonitorFilter

• Monitors that are triggered by process creation/termination can be tuned to reduce resource utilization caused by frequent, expected processes

RemoteConfiguration – New!

• WLS settings can be read from a file or web URL
  • Remote URL can be set at installation, no predefined configuration is required for deployment
  • Support for XML digital signatures to provide verification of content and that the signing certificate is trusted
• Rules can be used to load specific settings for hosts based on host attributes and WMI data

ServiceMonitor – New!

• Monitor Windows services. WLS App for Splunk includes dashboard for viewing the last known status and comparing changes over time.
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SessionMonitor

• Log user-defined certificate fields if used for authentication
• Log local non-loopback IP addresses (positive user/IP correlation!)
• Log user defined WinStationClient fields
  • WLS App for Splunk provides decoding for PerformanceFlags and WSFlags

Task Monitor – New!

• Log scheduled tasks on startup, periodically, and on-change
  • WLS App for Splunk provides a dashboard for analysis

WinObjectMonitor

• Enhanced filtering options
• Improved filtering performance

Misc

• Added support for decoding additional encoded IP address fields
• Improved finding files when user specific environmental variables are used
• Improved finding files when files have relative paths and are located in directories specified in the PATH environmental variable

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For more information on WLS, click “WLS Information” at the top, or here: WLS Information

If you’d like licensing or other information about WLS, send me a note via the contact form. WLS is currently available to US entities, but does require a signed license agreement.