Suspicious Registry Explorer Policy Change (via registry_set)

This rule detects registry modifications that disable internal tools or functions in explorer (malware like Agent Tesla uses this technique)

SigmamediumWindowsv1
sigma
title: Suspicious Registry Explorer Policy Change (via registry_set)
id: 9cb7b1e1-32d6-584b-977c-1265425dcb75
status: stable
description: This rule detects registry modifications that disable internal tools or functions in explorer (malware like Agent Tesla uses this technique)
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1112/
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1112/T1112.md
author: Huntrule Team
date: 2026-03-05
tags:
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.defense-impairment
    - attack.t1112
logsource:
    category: registry_set
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_set_1:
        TargetObject|endswith:
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoLogOff'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoDesktop'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoRun'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoFind'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoFileMenu'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoClose'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoSetTaskbar'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesMyDocuments'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoTrayContextMenu'
        Details: 'DWORD (0x00000001)'
    condition: selection_set_1
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium

Known false positives

  • Unknown

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