remote_access_tracing (#6)

Author: psexecsvc

artifacts/remote-access/remote_access_tracing.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+title: "Remote Access Service"
+category: "remote-access"
+
+
+description: "Two registry keys named <executable_name>_RASAPI32 and <executable_name>_RASMANCS are created the first time an application interacts with the Remote Access Service by loading rasapi32.dll and rasman.dll. This behavior allows analysts to confirm that a specific application has made an internet connection and to identify the timestamp of the first connection."
+
+paths:
+  - "HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Tracing\\<executable_name>_RASAPI32"
+  - "HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Tracing\\<executable_name>_RASMANCS"
+
+details:
+  what: |
+   Two registry keys named <executable_name>_RASAPI32 and <executable_name>_RASMANCS are created the first time an application interacts with the Remote Access Service by loading rasapi32.dll and rasman.dll.
+
+  forensic_value: |
+    Provides the ability to confirm that a specific application has made an internet connection and to identify the timestamp of the first connection by inspecting the registry keys timestamp.
+
+  structure: |
+    The registry key that will be created upon loading rasapi32.dll and rasman.dll will have a name of "ExecutableName_ServiceName", e.g., "svchost_RASAPI32", "svchost_RASMANCS". The value names inside the two registry keys are identical. "FileDirectory" is the path where Windows Tracing will output trace logs if enabled, "EnableFileTracing" and "EnableConsoleTracing" will have a value of 0 if disabled, and 1 if enabled. If they were enabled, a trace logs will be found in C:\Windows, but this file have no clear forensic value.
+
+  examples:
+    - "HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Tracing\\powershell_RASAPI32"
+    - "HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Tracing\\powershell_RASMANCS"
+
+  tools:
+    - name: "Registry Explorer"
+      url: "https://ericzimmerman.github.io/#!index.md"
+      description: "Advanced registry browser"
+
+limitations:
+  - "Provide the timestamp of the first connection only, as the keys will be created once."
+  - "If the application has already made network connections before the malicious one, the registry keys will already be created and the timestamp of the malicious connection will not be captured"
+  - "This artifact only prove that a network connection has been made, it does not provide any information on the connection itself, e.g., IP Address "
+
+correlation:
+  required_for_definitive_conclusions:
+    - "Network traffic logs showing actual communication"
+    - "The System Resource Usage Monitor (SRUM) showing the duration of the connection, the bandwidth usage, and the user who ran the application"
+  
+  strengthens_evidence:
+    - "Process execution logs (Event ID 4688 or Sysmon Event ID 1) showing the actual execution of the application"
+
+metadata:
+  windows_versions:
+    - "Windows 10"
+    - "Windows 11"
+    - "Windows Server 2019"
+    - "Windows Server 2022"
+
+  criticality: "low"
+
+  investigation_types:
+    - "incident-response"          # Emergency response situations
+    - "malware-analysis"           # Analyzing malicious software
+    - "timeline-analysis"          # Reconstructing sequence of events
+    - "behavioral-analysis"        # Understanding user/system behavior
+    - "initial-access"             # How attackers got in
+    - "program-execution"          # What programs were run
+    - "remote-access"              # Remote access tools/methods
+    - "data-exfiltration"          # Data theft and staging
+
+
+  tags:
+    - "remote-access"
+    - "windows-tracing"
+
+  references:
+    - title: "Tracing Malicious Downloads"
+      url: "https://www.allthingsdfir.com/tracing-malicious-downloads/"
+      type: "blog"
+
+  retention:
+    default_location: "SOFTWARE Registry hive file"
+    persistence: "Survives reboots and application uninstallation"
+    volatility: "Persistent until explicitly deleted"
+
+  related_artifacts:
+    - "SRUM"
+
+author:
+  name: "Abdullah Almutairi"
+  github: "psexecsvc"
+
+contribution:
+  date_added: "2025-08-13"
+  last_updated: "2025-08-13"
+  version: "1.0"
+  reviewed_by: "Reviewer Name" # Optional