Windows Provisioning Registry Key Abuse Leading to Indirect Execution via Provlaunch.exe
Flags Windows command lines referencing the provisioning commands registry path commonly abused for Provlaunch.exe-based indirect execution.
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2023-08-08
- Updated
- 2026-07-30
ATT&CK techniques
Defense EvasionRecon
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 creation events where the command line contains the provisioning commands registry path 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Provisioning\Commands\'. Abuse of this location can enable indirect command execution through Provlaunch.exe, helping attackers run additional payloads while blending into legitimate provisioning-related activity. It relies on Windows process creation telemetry with access to the full command line string.
Reporting behind it
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
title: Windows Provisioning Registry Key Abuse Leading to Indirect Execution via Provlaunch.exe
id: 9b3bbd82-9750-4cbe-aa77-a77923f0fca3
related:
- id: 7f5d1c9a-3e83-48df-95a7-2b98aae6c13c
type: similar
- id: f9999590-1f94-4a34-a91e-951e47bedefd
type: similar
- id: 7021255e-5db3-4946-a8b9-0ba7a4644a69
type: similar
- id: 2a4b3e61-9d22-4e4a-b60f-6e8f0cde6f25
type: derived
status: test
description: This rule flags process creation events where the command line contains the provisioning commands registry path 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Provisioning\Commands\'. Abuse of this location can enable indirect command execution through Provlaunch.exe, helping attackers run additional payloads while blending into legitimate provisioning-related activity. It relies on Windows process creation telemetry with access to the full command line string.
references:
- https://lolbas-project.github.io/lolbas/Binaries/Provlaunch/
- https://twitter.com/0gtweet/status/1674399582162153472
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_registry_provlaunch_provisioning_command.yml
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel, Huntrule Team
date: 2023-08-08
tags:
- attack.stealth
- attack.t1218
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection:
CommandLine|contains: SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Provisioning\Commands\
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1