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.
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2025-12-26
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
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
- woshub.comhttps://woshub.com/disable-credential-guard-windows/
- learn.microsoft.comhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mdm/policy-csp-deviceguard
- github.comhttps://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_credential_guard_registry_tampering.yml
Changelog
v2- 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 Credential Guard Registry Key Tampering via reg.exe or PowerShell Command Line
id: de15cc18-aa3c-4b3f-b7b1-625864bca596
related:
- id: 73921b9c-cafd-4446-b0c6-fdb0ace42bc0
type: similar
- id: d645ef86-2396-48a1-a2b6-b629ca3f57ff
type: similar
- id: c17d47b7-dcd6-4109-87eb-d1817bd4cbc9
type: derived
status: experimental
description: 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.
references:
- https://woshub.com/disable-credential-guard-windows/
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mdm/policy-csp-deviceguard
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_credential_guard_registry_tampering.yml
author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2025-12-26
tags:
- attack.defense-impairment
- attack.t1685
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection_img:
- Image|endswith:
- \powershell.exe
- \pwsh.exe
- \reg.exe
- OriginalFileName:
- PowerShell.EXE
- pwsh.dll
- reg.exe
selection_cli:
CommandLine|contains:
- "add "
- "New-ItemProperty "
- "Set-ItemProperty "
- "si "
- "delete "
- "del "
- "Remove-ItemProperty "
- "rp "
selection_key_base:
CommandLine|contains:
- \Control\DeviceGuard
- \Control\LSA
- Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceGuard
selection_key_specific:
CommandLine|contains:
- EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity
- RequirePlatformSecurityFeatures
- LsaCfgFlags
condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
- Unlikely
level: high
regression_tests_path: regression_data/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_credential_guard_registry_tampering/info.yml
license: DRL-1.1