huntrule

PowerShell VBScript RegWrite Registry Modification Attempts

Identifies PowerShell commands embedding VBScript Wscript.shell .RegWrite to modify Windows registry values.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Category
ps_script
Author
Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2025-08-13
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → 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 flags PowerShell script content that constructs a VBScript shell object (CreateObject("Wscript.shell")) and calls the VBScript RegWrite method to modify registry values. This matters because attackers can perform registry changes without using common registry utilities or native registry cmdlets, which may help evade standard detections. Telemetry is based on PowerShell ScriptBlockText matches for CreateObject, Wscript.shell, and RegWrite within the same script block.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1112 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious VBScript Payload Stored in CurrentVersion Registry Value (via registry_set)
VBScript Registry Write Attempt via Wscript.shell RegWrite on Windows
Suspicious Registry Value under Console WindowsUpdates for C2 Storage
Malicious mshta Launching WScript VBScript Loader
Suspicious Office VBA Object Model Access Enabled via Registry (via registry_set)
Suspicious PowerShell Payload Staging in HKCU Printers Registry Key
Suspicious wscript Execution Forcing VBScript Engine in Batch Mode
Suspicious Rootkit Configuration Registry Keys (via registry_set)
Suspicious Disabling of Chromium App-Bound Encryption via Policy Registry Key (via registry_set)
PowerShell VBScript RegWrite Registry Modification Attempts
Pivot detection · T1112 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. v1
    No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

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