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
suspicious-registry-explorer-policy-change-via-registry-set
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.