huntrule

Suspicious RunOnce Persistence Pointing to User AppData

PremiumReviewedSigma · Low · v1
Product
windows
Category
registry_set
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-10-21
Updated
2026-10-21
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects a RunOnce registry value whose payload path resides in the user AppData directory. The DarkCloud stealer establishes persistence through HKCU RunOnce entries referencing its dropped AutoIt-compiled executable. A RunOnce value launching a binary from a user-writable location is a common malware persistence pattern.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious RunOnce Persistence Pointing to User AppData
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.