Malicious sdclt UAC Bypass via Folder Shell Open Command Hijack

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
- T1548.002Bypass User Account Control
Defense Evasion
- T1548.002Bypass User Account Control
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects modification of the per-user Folder shell open command class key used to hijack the auto-elevating sdclt.exe. Warzone RAT writes its payload path into HKCU Software Classes Folder shell open command so that launching sdclt runs the malware with elevated privileges and bypasses UAC. Changes to this class command key are strongly associated with UAC bypass techniques.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1548.002 — drag to rearrange

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Malicious sdclt UAC Bypass via Folder Shell Open Command Hijack

Pivot detection · T1548.002 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

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