Suspicious Registry Query for Stored Credentials (via process_creation)

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-06-09
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Cred Access
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Discovery

  9. Lateral Movement

  10. Collection

  11. C2

  12. Exfiltration

  13. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects reg.exe querying registry locations for stored passwords or autologon credentials, an unsecured-credentials technique used to harvest plaintext secrets left in the registry. Searching the registry for credentials is tracked in the Red Canary Threat Detection Report. Detecting these queries surfaces credential discovery on the host.

Related detections4 linkedT1552.002 — drag to rearrange
Windows reg.exe Registry Save/Export of Third-Party Credential Paths
Windows CLI Enumeration of 3rd-Party Credential Registry Keys
Windows reg.exe Credential Enumeration via Registry Query (HKLM/HKCU)
Windows Security Event 4656: SAM Registry Hive Key Handle Requested
Suspicious Registry Query for Stored Credentials (via process_creation)
Pivot detection · T1552.002 · 4 related

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