FaresMorcy
  • Whoami
  • Footprinting Labs
    • Lab - Easy
    • Lab - Medium
    • Lab - Hard
  • Shells & Payloads
    • The Live Engagement
  • Password Attacks
    • Lab - Easy
    • Lab - Medium
    • Lab - Hard
  • Active Directory Enumeration & Attacks
    • Active Directory Enumeration & Attacks
    • AD Enumeration & Attacks - Skills Assessment Part I
    • AD Enumeration & Attacks - Skills Assessment Part II
  • SOC Hackthebox Notes & Labs
    • Security Monitoring & SIEM Fundamentals Module
    • Windows Event Logs & Finding Evil Module
    • Introduction to Threat Hunting & Hunting With Elastic Module
    • Understanding Log Sources & Investigating with Splunk Module
      • Introduction To Splunk & SPL
      • Using Splunk Applications
      • Intrusion Detection With Splunk (Real-world Scenario)
      • Detecting Attacker Behavior With Splunk Based On TTPs
      • Detecting Attacker Behavior With Splunk Based On Analytics
      • Skills Assessment
    • Windows Attacks & Defense
      • Kerberoasting
      • AS-REProasting
      • GPP Passwords
      • GPO Permissions/GPO Files
      • Credentials in Shares
      • Credentials in Object Properties
      • DCSync
      • Golden Ticket
      • Kerberos Constrained Delegation
      • Print Spooler & NTLM Relaying
      • Coercing Attacks & Unconstrained Delegation
      • Object ACLs
      • PKI - ESC1
      • Skills Assessment
    • Intro to Network Traffic Analysis Module
    • YARA & Sigma for SOC Analysts Module
      • Developing YARA Rules
      • Hunting Evil with YARA (Windows Edition)
      • Hunting Evil with YARA (Linux Edition)
      • Sigma and Sigma Rules
      • Developing Sigma Rules
      • Hunting Evil with Sigma (Chainsaw Edition)
      • Hunting Evil with Sigma (Splunk Edition)
      • Skills Assessment
  • TryHackme SOC 1
    • TShark
      • TShark: The Basics
      • TShark: CLI Wireshark Features
      • TShark Challenge I: Teamwork
      • TShark Challenge II: Directory
    • Tempest
    • Boogeyman 1
    • Boogeyman 2
    • Boogeyman 3
  • TryHackme SOC 2
    • Advanced Splunk
      • Splunk: Exploring SPL
      • Splunk: Setting up a SOC Lab
      • Splunk: Dashboards and Reports
      • Splunk: Data Manipulation
      • Fixit
    • Advanced ELK
      • Slingshot
    • Threat Hunting
      • Threat Hunting: Foothold
      • Threat Hunting: Pivoting
      • Threat Hunting: Endgame
  • TryHackme Rooms
    • Investigating Windows
    • Splunk 2
    • Windows Network Analysis
  • Powershell Scripting Fundamentals
  • SANS SEC504 & Labs
    • Book one
      • Live Examination
      • Network Investigations
      • Memory Investigations
      • Malware Investigations
      • Accelerating IR with Generative AI
      • Bootcamp: Linux Olympics
      • Bootcamp: Powershell Olympics
    • Book Two
      • Hacker Tools and Techniques Introduction
      • Target Discovery and Enumeration
      • Discovery and Scanning with Nmap
      • Cloud Spotlight: Cloud Scanning
      • SMB Security
      • Defense Spotlight: Hayabusa and Sigma Rules
    • Book Three
      • Password Attacks
      • Cloud Spotlight: Microsoft 365 Password Attacks
      • Understanding Password Hashes
      • Password Cracking
      • Cloud Spotlight: Insecure Storage
      • Multipurpose Netcat
    • Book Four
      • Metasploit Framework
      • Drive-By Attacks
      • Command Injection
      • Cross-Site Scripting
      • SQL Injection
      • Cloud Spotlight: SSRF and IMDS
    • Book Five
      • Endpoint Security Bypass
      • Pivoting and Lateral Movement
      • Hijacking Attacks
      • Establishing Persistence
      • Defense Spotlight: RITA
      • Cloud Spotlight: Cloud Post-Exploitation
  • SANS SEC511 & Labs
    • Resources
      • Primers
      • References
      • Tools
        • Network
        • Elastic Stack
      • Printable Versions
    • Book One
      • Part One
      • Part Two
      • Part Three
    • Book Two
      • Part One
      • Part Two
      • Part Three
      • Part Four
    • Book Three
      • Part One
      • Part Two
      • Part Three
      • Part Four
    • Book Four
      • Part One
      • Part Two
      • Part Three Lab
      • Part Four Lab
    • Book Five
      • Part One Lab
      • Part Two Lab
      • Part Three Lab
  • CyberDefenders
    • XXE Infiltration Lab
    • T1594 Lab
    • RetailBreach Lab
    • DanaBot Lab
    • OpenWire Lab
    • BlueSky Ransomware Lab
    • Openfire Lab
    • Boss Of The SOC v1 Lab
    • GoldenSpray Lab
    • REvil Lab
    • ShadowRoast Lab
    • SolarDisruption Lab
    • Kerberoasted Lab
    • T1197 Lab
    • Amadey Lab
    • Malware Traffic Analysis 1 Lab
    • Insider Lab
    • Volatility Traces Lab
    • FalconEye Lab
    • GitTheGate Lab
    • Trident Lab
    • NerisBot Lab
  • Practical Windows Forensics
    • Data Collection
    • Examination
    • Disk Analysis Introduction
    • User Behavior
    • Overview of disk structures, partitions and file systems
    • Finding Evidence of Deleted Files with USN Journal Analysis
    • Analyzing Evidence of Program Execution
    • Finding Evidence of Persistence Mechanisms
    • Uncover Malicious Activity with Windows Event Log Analysis
    • Windows Memory Forensic Analysis
  • Hackthebox Rooms
    • Campfire-1
    • Compromised
    • Brutus
    • Trent
    • CrownJewel-1
  • WEInnovate Training
    • Weinnovate - Active Directory Task One
    • Build ELK Lab
      • Configure Elasticsearch and Kibana setup in ubuntu
      • Configure Fluent-Bit to send logs to ELK
      • Set up Winlogbeat & Filebeat for log collection
      • Send Logs from Winlogbeat through Logstash to ELK
      • Enable Windows Audit Policy & Winlogbeat
      • Elasticsearch API and Ingestion Pipeline
    • SOAR
      • Send Alerts To Email & Telegram Bot
      • Integrate Tines with ELK
    • SOC Practical Assessment
    • Lumma C2
    • Network Analysis
  • Build ELK Lab
    • Configure Elasticsearch and Kibana setup in ubuntu
    • Configure Fluent-Bit to send logs to ELK
    • Set up Winlogbeat & Filebeat for log collection
    • Send Logs from Winlogbeat through Logstash to ELK
    • Enable Windows Audit Policy & Winlogbeat
    • Elasticsearch API and Ingestion Pipeline
  • Build Home Lab - SOC Automation
    • Install & configure Sysmon for deep Windows event logging
    • Set up Wazuh & TheHive for threat detection & case management
    • Execute Mimikatz & create detection rules in Wazuh
    • Automate everything with Shuffle
    • Response to SSH Attack Using Shuffle, Wazuh, and TheHive
  • Home Lab (Attack & Defense Scenarios)
    • Pass-the-Hash Attack & Defense
    • Scheduled Task Attack & Defense
    • Kerberoasting Attack & Defense
    • Kerberos Constrained Delegation
    • Password Spraying Attack & Defense
    • Golden Ticket Attack & Defense
    • AS-REProasting Attack & Defense
    • DCSync Attack & Defense
  • Home Lab (FIN7 (Carbanak Group) – Point of Sale (POS) Attack on Hospitality Chains)
  • Home Lab (Lumma Stealer)
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  1. Practical Windows Forensics

Finding Evidence of Deleted Files with USN Journal Analysis

PreviousOverview of disk structures, partitions and file systemsNextAnalyzing Evidence of Program Execution

Last updated 5 months ago

In the context of Master File Table (MFT) entries in NTFS file systems, "in-use" and "not in-use" are terms that describe the status of MFT records.

Term
Description

In-Use

The MFT entry is active and points to an existing file or directory.

The file/directory is currently present on the file system.

Not In-Use

The MFT entry is inactive and has been marked for reuse.

The file/directory has been deleted, but its metadata remains until the space is overwritten.

How It Works

  1. When a file is created:

    • A new MFT entry is allocated and marked in-use.

  2. When a file is deleted:

    • The MFT entry is marked as not in-use, but the metadata and file content may remain on disk until overwritten.

  3. Forensic Use:

    • "Not in-use" entries allow forensic investigators to recover deleted files, extract timestamps, or analyze remnants of file metadata.

Let’s examine the details of the "SRU00078.log" file using its Entry Number.

MFTECmd.exe -f C:\Cases\E\$MFT --de 176972

The IsFree flag means this MFT entry is not in use. The file associated with this entry has been deleted, and the MFT entry is available for reuse.

Resident: False

  • The file data is stored outside the MFT entry, meaning it's non-resident data.

DataRuns Entries: Specifies the physical cluster location on disk:

  • 0x9E2F5: Starting cluster.

  • 0x10: The number of clusters allocated (16 clusters × 4 KB = 64 KB).

Analyzing the USN Journal for deleted files

Q) When was the file "deleteme_T1551.004" created and deleted ?

The USN Journal (Update Sequence Number Journal) is a valuable artifact in forensic investigations for tracking changes to files and directories on an NTFS volume. It records metadata changes, including file creations, modifications, renames, and deletions.

$Extend\$UsnJrnl: Tracks file and directory changes on an NTFS volume.

  • $Max: Contains metadata about the USN Journal configuration.

  • $J: Contains records of filesystem operations.

We can see the two files in our Cases folder.

Now, let's parse the $J file.

MFTECmd.exe -f C:\Cases\E\$Extend\$J -m C:\Cases\E\$MFT --csv C:\Cases\Analysis\NTFS

  • $MFT file to use when -f points to a $J file

Let's open "MFTECmd_$J_Output.csv" using Timeline Explorer and search for "deleteme_T1551.004" file.

Let's scroll to the right.

The Update Timestamps are visible by scrolling to the left.

  • File Create: 2024-12-12 08:08:58

  • File Deleted: 2024-12-12 08:08:59

Q) What was the Entry Number for "deleteme_T1551.004" and does it still exist in the MFT ?

We already know its Entry Number.

MFTECmd.exe -f C:\Cases\E\$MFT --de 1987

The space in the MFT that was previously occupied by the deleteme_T1551.004 file have been reused or overwritten by another file, in this case, WuProvider...etl. This could happen if the original file was deleted or its entry was recycled after being deleted or modified.