huntrule

Windows Process Creation: Pypykatz Credential Dumping via Registry Parsing

Alerts when pypykatz is run with "live" and "registry" parameters to extract credential data from local SAM-related artifacts.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
frack113 (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-01-05
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 flags Windows process creation events where pypykatz is executed or a Python interpreter launches pypykatz, with command-line arguments indicating live registry parsing. Attackers use pypykatz to extract stored credential material by targeting the Security Account Manager (SAM) information exposed through Windows registry data. The detection relies on process creation telemetry, specifically the executable path/name and command-line content containing both the terms "live" and "registry".

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1003.002 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Archiving of Registry Hives via WinRAR (UAT-8099)
Malicious Registry Hive Dump of SAM or SYSTEM via Reg Save (via process_creation)
Malicious Credential Hive Copy from Volume Shadow Copy
Malicious Secretdump Password Dumping via SMB Admin Share (via security)
Malicious Registry Hive Dump of SAM and SYSTEM via Reg Save (via process_creation)
Suspicious SAM Registry Hive Dump to Windows Temp by BianLian
Malicious SAM and SYSTEM Hive Dump via reg save (via process_creation)
Malicious Mimikatz Credential Access Module Invocation
Malicious SYSTEM Registry Hive Dump via reg.exe by Sandworm
Windows Process Creation: Pypykatz Credential Dumping via Registry Parsing
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.