huntrule

Windows ETW: Kernel-General resets registry hive access bits in temp hive paths

Detects ETW EventID 16 when access bits are reset for Temp \SAM or \SECURITY hives.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Service
system
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2017-05-15
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Cred Access

  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 identifies Kernel-General ETW events where a registry hive located under the temporary directory (containing \Temp\SAM or \Temp\SECURITY) has its access bits reset. Resetting hive access bits can indicate attempts to access or extract protected registry data from hives that have not been recognized recently. The detection relies on Windows System ETW telemetry (Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-General, EventID 16) including the hive name in the event.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1003.002 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Registry Hive Dump via reg save to Disguised evt Files
Malicious NTDS Extraction from Volume Shadow Copy by RA World
Malicious Flax Typhoon SAM and SECURITY Registry Hive Dump via reg save (via process_creation)
Malicious Registry Hive Dump for Credential Access via reg save (via process_creation)
Suspicious Registry Hive Export of SAM and SECURITY for Credential Theft after FortiClient EMS Exploitation
Malicious Registry Hive Dump via reg save
Malicious SAM and SYSTEM Registry Hive Credential Dump via reg.exe (via process_creation)
Malicious Registry Hive Theft from Shadow Copy via Print LOLBIN
Malicious Volume Shadow Copy Access via Mklink to GLOBALROOT
Windows ETW: Kernel-General resets registry hive access bits in temp hive paths
Pivot detection · T1003.002 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. v1
    No 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.