Windows CVE-2019-1388 UAC Consent to Internet Explorer Execution as LOCAL_SYSTEM
Flags UAC consent.exe launching iexplore.exe running as SYSTEM, consistent with CVE-2019-1388 exploitation.
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2019-11-20
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
Priv EscRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule identifies exploitation behavior where a UAC consent binary spawns an Internet Explorer process with elevated SYSTEM integrity. Such activity matters because it can indicate a privilege-escalation attempt using the UAC consent flow to run code under LOCAL_SYSTEM. Telemetry relies on Windows process creation events, including parent process image, spawned process image, command-line content, and the process integrity level or user SID associated with SYSTEM.
Reporting behind it
- portal.msrc.microsoft.comhttps://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2019-1388
- zerodayinitiative.comhttps://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2019/11/19/thanksgiving-treat-easy-as-pie-windows-7-secure-desktop-escalation-of-privilege
- github.comhttps://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2019/Exploits/CVE-2019-1388/proc_creation_win_exploit_cve_2019_1388.yml
Changelog
v5- v5Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v4Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v3Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v2Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v1No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
title: Windows CVE-2019-1388 UAC Consent to Internet Explorer Execution as LOCAL_SYSTEM
id: b0eae416-5168-441e-8721-eff469f94377
status: stable
description: This rule identifies exploitation behavior where a UAC consent binary spawns an Internet Explorer process with elevated SYSTEM integrity. Such activity matters because it can indicate a privilege-escalation attempt using the UAC consent flow to run code under LOCAL_SYSTEM. Telemetry relies on Windows process creation events, including parent process image, spawned process image, command-line content, and the process integrity level or user SID associated with SYSTEM.
references:
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2019-1388
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2019/11/19/thanksgiving-treat-easy-as-pie-windows-7-secure-desktop-escalation-of-privilege
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2019/Exploits/CVE-2019-1388/proc_creation_win_exploit_cve_2019_1388.yml
author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2019-11-20
modified: 2024-12-01
tags:
- attack.privilege-escalation
- attack.t1068
- cve.2019-1388
- detection.emerging-threats
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection_img:
ParentImage|endswith: \consent.exe
Image|endswith: \iexplore.exe
CommandLine|contains: " http"
selection_rights:
- IntegrityLevel:
- System
- S-1-16-16384
- User|contains:
- AUTHORI
- AUTORI
condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
- Unknown
level: critical
license: DRL-1.1
related:
- id: 02e0b2ea-a597-428e-b04a-af6a1a403e5c
type: derived