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Windows Credential Guard Registry Key Tampering via reg.exe or PowerShell Command Line

Alerts on PowerShell/Reg.exe commands that add/modify/delete DeviceGuard/LSA registry values tied to Credential Guard.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2025-12-26
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

  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 flags process command lines using reg.exe or PowerShell (including common aliases) to add, modify, or delete registry entries under DeviceGuard or LSA paths. It specifically looks for manipulation of values tied to Credential Guard such as EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity, RequirePlatformSecurityFeatures, and LsaCfgFlags. Tampering with these settings can weaken virtualization-based security and expose sensitive credentials, so the rule relies on process creation telemetry and command-line content matching.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1685 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Vulnerable Intel Ethernet Driver Load for BYOVD via SCATTERED SPIDER (via driver_load)
Malicious Defender Disable And Executable Exclusion Via Registry
Malicious UAC Disable via EnableLUA Registry Modification (via registry_set)
Malicious AMSI and ETW Patching via PowerShell Script
Malicious PowMix AMSI Bypass via amsiInitFailed
Suspicious ThrottleStop Driver Abuse for Defense Evasion in Ransomware Attacks
Malicious Disabling of Microsoft Defender Real-Time Protection via SystemSettingsAdminFlows by DeadLock Ransomware
Suspicious Security Software Uninstallation via WMIC Product Call Uninstall (Chaos Ransomware)
Suspicious Security Product Uninstall via wmic product call uninstall
Windows Credential Guard Registry Key Tampering via reg.exe or PowerShell Command Line
Pivot detection · T1685 · 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.