huntrule

Suspicious Fodhelper UAC Bypass ms-settings Command Registry Modification

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
registry_set
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-09-23
Updated
2026-09-23
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → 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 detects creation of the HKCU ms-settings shell open command key used to hijack fodhelper.exe for a UAC bypass, a technique used in the Ducktail PowerShell chain to gain elevation. Attackers stage a payload path in this key so that auto-elevated fodhelper executes it without a consent prompt.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1548.002 — drag to rearrange
Malicious UAC Bypass via HKCU Environment windir Hijack
Suspicious UAC Bypass via Fodhelper or Eventvwr Auto-Elevated Process
Malicious UAC Disable via EnableLUA Registry Modification via registry_set
Malicious UAC Bypass via ICMLuaUtil COM Elevation via process_creation
Malicious UAC Bypass via Eventvwr Execution Hijack via Process Creation
Malicious UAC Bypass via Fodhelper or ComputerDefaults Execution Hijack via Process Creation
Malicious FodHelper UAC Bypass via ms-settings Shell Command Hijack (via registry_set)
Suspicious Banana RAT UAC Skip Environment Variable in PowerShell
Malicious UAC Bypass via sdclt Handler Hijack (via registry_set)
Suspicious Fodhelper UAC Bypass ms-settings Command Registry Modification
Pivot detection · T1548.002 · 9 related

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