Suspicious RDP Wds StartupPrograms Persistence Modification (via registry_set)

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
- T1547Boot or Logon Autostart Execution
Priv Esc
- T1547Boot or Logon Autostart Execution
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects modification of the Terminal Server rdpwd StartupPrograms value which lists programs launched when a Remote Desktop session starts. Adversaries append their payload to this value to persist and execute code on incoming RDP logons.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious RDP Wds StartupPrograms Persistence Modification (via registry_set)

Pivot detection · T1547 · 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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