Suspicious NTUSER.MAN Mandatory Profile File Created for Logon Persistence (via file_event)

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
- T1112Modify Registry
- T1547.001Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
Priv Esc
- T1547.001Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
Defense Evasion
- T1112Modify Registry
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects creation of an NTUSER.MAN mandatory user profile file inside a local user profile directory, a logon-persistence technique attributed to APT32 by 360 Advanced Threat Research in which a crafted binary registry hive is dropped as NTUSER.MAN so malicious autostart entries execute at user logon without administrative rights. Adversaries abuse the mandatory profile mechanism to load an attacker-built HKCU hive that never passes through the registry API, evading registry-callback based monitoring.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious NTUSER.MAN Mandatory Profile File Created for Logon Persistence (via file_event)

Pivot detection · T1547.001 · 9 related

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

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