Suspicious ClickOnce Trust Prompt Manipulation (via registry_set)

title: Suspicious ClickOnce Trust Prompt Manipulation (via registry_set)
id: b8c60634-56bd-5cf9-af65-ed3321e227a0
status: stable
description: This rule detects changes to the ClickOnce trust prompt registry key to enable an installation from different locations such as the Internet.
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1112/
    - https://posts.specterops.io/less-smartscreen-more-caffeine-ab-using-clickonce-for-trusted-code-execution-1446ea8051c5
    - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/deployment/how-to-configure-the-clickonce-trust-prompt-behavior
author: 'Huntrule Team'
date: 2026-04-14
tags:
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.defense-impairment
    - attack.t1112
logsource:
    category: registry_set
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        TargetObject|contains: '\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\.NETFramework\Security\TrustManager\PromptingLevel\'
        TargetObject|endswith:
            - '\Internet'
            - '\LocalIntranet'
            - '\MyComputer'
            - '\TrustedSites'
            - '\UntrustedSites'
        Details: 'Enabled'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium