Malicious WDigest UseLogonCredential Enabled for Cleartext Credential Theft (via registry_set)

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
registry_set
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-10-15
Updated
2026-10-15

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Cred Access
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Priv Esc

  6. Defense Evasion

  7. Discovery

  8. Lateral Movement

  9. Collection

  10. C2

  11. Exfiltration

  12. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects the WDigest UseLogonCredential value being set to 1, which forces Windows to cache cleartext credentials in memory. Storm-1175 enables this before dumping credentials during high-tempo Medusa ransomware operations. Adversaries use the change to recover plaintext passwords with tools like Mimikatz, so this registry modification is a strong precursor to credential theft and lateral movement.

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Malicious WDigest UseLogonCredential Enabled for Cleartext Credential Theft (via registry_set)
Pivot detection · T1112 · 9 related

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