huntrule

Windows Process Creation: Suspicious reg.exe Query for MachineGuid

Detects reg.exe queries for MachineGuid under SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography via process creation logs.

FreeReviewedSigma · Low · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
frack113 (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-01-01
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery

  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 executions where reg.exe is used with command-line arguments that query the SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography registry location for the MachineGuid value. Attackers may use MachineGuid as a stable host identifier to support discovery, correlation, or environment fingerprinting. Detection relies on process creation telemetry including the executable path and full command line arguments.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious System Discovery via WMIC Query Commands (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell Host and Locale Reconnaissance via MuddyWater Tsundere Botnet
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Suspicious System Profiler Hardware Reconnaissance via BANSHEE
Windows Process Creation: Suspicious reg.exe Query for MachineGuid
Pivot detection · T1082 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.