Malicious UAC Disable via EnableLUA Registry Modification (via registry_set)

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
registry_set
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-09-12
Updated
2026-09-12

ATT&CK techniques

  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects the EnableLUA registry value being set to 0, which disables User Account Control, as performed by Phobos ransomware affiliates. Disabling UAC removes elevation prompts and eases silent execution of privileged operations during the intrusion.

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Suspicious Security Product Uninstall via wmic product call uninstall
Suspicious Windows Defender Exclusion Added for ProgramData (via process_creation)
Windows Firewall Disabled via netsh advfirewall
Malicious Known Vulnerable Driver Load for BYOVD Attack
Malicious UAC Disable via EnableLUA Registry Modification (via registry_set)
Pivot detection · T1685 · 9 related

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