huntrule

Non-privileged reg.exe or PowerShell registry service configuration changes on Windows

Flags non-admin reg.exe or PowerShell activity targeting service registry configuration paths on Windows.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Teymur Kheirkhabarov (idea), Ryan Plas (rule), oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-10-05
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Defense Evasion

  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 identifies process executions by non-privileged users running reg.exe or PowerShell commands that include service-related registry paths. It matters because modifying service configuration can enable persistence or interfere with defenses without needing elevated privileges. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry, including command line content and integrity level indicators (Medium or S-1-16-8192).

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1112 — drag to rearrange
Malicious Enabling of Restricted Admin Mode via Registry by UAT-8837
Suspicious Enabling of Remote Desktop via fDenyTSConnections Registry by DeadLock Ransomware
Malicious Service DLL Hijack for Persistence via Lotus Blossom
Suspicious Loopback Proxy Server Configured via Registry (via registry_set)
Malicious WDigest Credential Caching Enabled via Registry (via registry_set)
Suspicious Remote Desktop Enabled via fDenyTSConnections Registry by Sandworm
Malicious Gh0stBins RAT Registry Marker HHClient
Suspicious PebbleDash C2 Configuration Stored Under WMI Security Key (via registry_set)
Suspicious WDigest UseLogonCredential Enablement for Plaintext Credential Theft (via registry_set)
Non-privileged reg.exe or PowerShell registry service configuration changes on Windows
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.