An uncommon file was created in the startup folder

Synopsis

Field	Value
Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	7 Days
Required Data	XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder (T1547.001)
Severity	Informational

Description

An uncommon file was created in the startup folder.

Attacker's Goals

Maintain persistence on the host through automatic execution at startup.

Investigative actions

• Determine if the file was created as part of a legitimate application installation, and check other files written by the same process.
• Identify which program opens this file based on its extension.
• Check the registry at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT[extension]\shell[action]\command to see the default application or command used to execute the file.

Variations

An executable file with a non-default extension was added to the startup folder

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder (T1547.001)
Severity	Medium

Description

An executable file with a non-default extension was added to the startup folder.

Attacker's Goals

Maintain persistence on the host through automatic execution at startup.

Investigative actions

• Determine if the file was created as part of a legitimate application installation, and check other files written by the same process.
• Identify which program opens this file based on its extension.
• Check the registry at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT[extension]\shell[action]\command to see the default application or command used to execute the file.

An executable or script was added to the startup folder

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder (T1547.001)
Severity	Low

Description

An executable or script was added to the startup folder. This may occur during a legitimate program installation but could also indicate a malicious program persisting on the system.

Attacker's Goals

Maintain persistence on the host through automatic execution at startup.

Investigative actions

• Determine if the file was created as part of a legitimate application installation, and check other files written by the same process.
• Identify which program opens this file based on its extension.
• Check the registry at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT[extension]\shell[action]\command to see the default application or command used to execute the file.

A file with an uncommon extension was added to the startup folder

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Event Triggered Execution: Change Default File Association (T1546.001), Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder (T1547.001)
Severity	Low

Description

A file with an uncommon extension was added to the startup folder, which may happen on new program installation, but may also indicate a malicious program persisting itself.

Attacker's Goals

Persistence on the host.

Investigative actions

• Check if the file was set during installation process (what other files were written by the process).
• Check the registry at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.[extension]\shell[action]\command for the default application or command to execute.

A new shortcut (lnk) was added to the startup folder

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder (T1547.001)
Severity	Low

Description

A new shortcut (lnk) file was added to the startup folder, which may happen on new program installation, but may also indicate a malicious program persisting itself.

Attacker's Goals

Maintain persistence on the host through automatic execution at startup.

Investigative actions

• Determine if the file was created as part of a legitimate application installation, and check other files written by the same process.
• Identify which program opens this file based on its extension.
• Check the registry at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT[extension]\shell[action]\command to see the default application or command used to execute the file.