Windows process and registry activity matching SOURGUM persistence/privilege escalation behavior

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
- T1546Event Triggered Execution
- T1546.015Component Object Model Hijacking
Priv Esc
- T1546Event Triggered Execution
- T1546.015Component Object Model Hijacking
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule identifies suspicious Windows process creation and registry modification behavior associated with an actor tracked by Microsoft as SOURGUM. It matches processes that reference specific Windows system files or WimBoot configuration paths and also looks for reg.exe usage combined with targeted registry key patterns under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Such activity can indicate attempts to persist access or escalate privileges by altering in-process server registrations.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1546.015 — drag to rearrange

Suspicious COM Hijack of ClickOnce Deployment Service CLSID (via registry_set)

Suspicious COM Hijack Via InprocServer32 Modification

Malicious COM Hijacking via TinyTurla CLSID InprocServer32 (via registry_set)

Suspicious dllhost.exe Spawned with CLSID and Anomalous Parent (via process_creation)

Suspicious COM Handler Hijack of MsCtfMonitor CLSID via CharmingCypress

AdminSDHolder Permissions Changed for Persistence (via security)

Malicious COM Hijack of PSFactoryBuffer InprocServer32

Malicious APT-C-60 COM Hijack via SpyGlace CLSID InProcServer32 (via registry_set)

Malicious COM Hijack via CLSID InProcServer32 Registry Modification (via registry_set)

Windows process and registry activity matching SOURGUM persistence/privilege escalation behavior

Pivot detection · T1546.015 · 9 related

Changelog

v5

v5
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v4
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v3
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
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.

windows-process-and-registry-changes-associated-with-sourgum-actor-behaviors-7ba08e95

title: Windows process and registry activity matching SOURGUM persistence/privilege escalation behavior
id: 19be21a4-604b-4571-b01a-816e219d7604
status: test
description: This rule identifies suspicious Windows process creation and registry modification behavior associated with an actor tracked by Microsoft as SOURGUM. It matches processes that reference specific Windows system files or WimBoot configuration paths and also looks for reg.exe usage combined with targeted registry key patterns under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Such activity can indicate attempts to persist access or escalate privileges by altering in-process server registrations.
references:
  - https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/c299063e3eae8ddc15839767e83b9808fd43418dc5a1af7e4f44b97ba53fbd3d/detection
  - https://github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/blob/43e9be273dca321295190bfc4902858e009d4a35/Detections/MultipleDataSources/SOURGUM_IOC.yaml
  - https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2021/07/15/protecting-customers-from-a-private-sector-offensive-actor-using-0-day-exploits-and-devilstongue-malware/
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2021/TA/SOURGUM/proc_creation_win_apt_sourgrum.yml
author: MSTIC, FPT.EagleEye, Huntrule Team
date: 2021-06-15
modified: 2022-10-09
tags:
  - attack.t1546
  - attack.t1546.015
  - attack.persistence
  - attack.privilege-escalation
  - detection.emerging-threats
logsource:
  product: windows
  category: process_creation
detection:
  selection:
    Image|contains:
      - windows\system32\Physmem.sys
      - Windows\system32\ime\SHARED\WimBootConfigurations.ini
      - Windows\system32\ime\IMEJP\WimBootConfigurations.ini
      - Windows\system32\ime\IMETC\WimBootConfigurations.ini
  registry_image:
    Image|contains:
      - windows\system32\filepath2
      - windows\system32\ime
    CommandLine|contains: reg add
  registry_key:
    CommandLine|contains:
      - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\classes\clsid\{7c857801-7381-11cf-884d-00aa004b2e24}\inprocserver32
      - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\classes\clsid\{cf4cc405-e2c5-4ddd-b3ce-5e7582d8c9fa}\inprocserver32
  condition: selection or all of registry_*
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: 7ba08e95-1e0b-40cd-9db5-b980555e42fd
    type: derived

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