Windows reg.exe Registry Hive Dumping for SAM, SYSTEM, and SECURITY
Flags reg.exe command lines exporting or saving HKLM registry hives tied to SAM, SYSTEM, and SECURITY.
FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- Teymur Kheirkhabarov, Endgame, JHasenbusch, Daniil Yugoslavskiy, oscd.community, frack113 (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2019-10-22
- Updated
- 2026-07-30
ATT&CK techniques
Cred AccessRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule identifies Windows process executions of reg.exe where the command line includes hive-dump indicators for HKLM and references to the SYSTEM, SAM, and SECURITY hives. Attackers use reg.exe to collect sensitive credential material and secrets from the registry, so correlating reg.exe usage with hive-specific paths helps surface credential-access activity. Telemetry relies on process creation data including the executable image name and the full command line.
Reporting behind it
- slideshare.nethttps://www.slideshare.net/heirhabarov/hunting-for-credentials-dumping-in-windows-environment
- eqllib.readthedocs.iohttps://eqllib.readthedocs.io/en/latest/analytics/aed95fc6-5e3f-49dc-8b35-06508613f979.html
- github.comhttps://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1003/T1003.md
- wietzebeukema.nlhttps://www.wietzebeukema.nl/blog/windows-command-line-obfuscation
- github.comhttps://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1003.002/T1003.002.md#atomic-test-1---registry-dump-of-sam-creds-and-secrets
- github.comhttps://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_reg_dumping_sensitive_hives.yml
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
windows-reg-exe-registry-hive-dumping-for-sam-system-and-security-fd877b94
title: Windows reg.exe Registry Hive Dumping for SAM, SYSTEM, and SECURITY
id: bbd69dc1-bb57-4695-be29-3a857d5e7b78
related:
- id: 038cd51c-3ad8-41c5-ba8f-5d1c92f3cc1e
type: obsolete
- id: 4d6c9da1-318b-4edf-bcea-b6c93fa98fd0
type: obsolete
- id: fd877b94-9bb5-4191-bb25-d79cbd93c167
type: derived
status: test
description: This rule identifies Windows process executions of reg.exe where the command line includes hive-dump indicators for HKLM and references to the SYSTEM, SAM, and SECURITY hives. Attackers use reg.exe to collect sensitive credential material and secrets from the registry, so correlating reg.exe usage with hive-specific paths helps surface credential-access activity. Telemetry relies on process creation data including the executable image name and the full command line.
references:
- https://www.slideshare.net/heirhabarov/hunting-for-credentials-dumping-in-windows-environment
- https://eqllib.readthedocs.io/en/latest/analytics/aed95fc6-5e3f-49dc-8b35-06508613f979.html
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1003/T1003.md
- https://www.wietzebeukema.nl/blog/windows-command-line-obfuscation
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1003.002/T1003.002.md#atomic-test-1---registry-dump-of-sam-creds-and-secrets
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_reg_dumping_sensitive_hives.yml
author: Teymur Kheirkhabarov, Endgame, JHasenbusch, Daniil Yugoslavskiy, oscd.community, frack113, Huntrule Team
date: 2019-10-22
modified: 2023-12-13
tags:
- attack.credential-access
- attack.t1003.002
- attack.t1003.004
- attack.t1003.005
- car.2013-07-001
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection_img:
- Image|endswith: \reg.exe
- OriginalFileName: reg.exe
selection_cli_flag:
CommandLine|contains:
- " save "
- " export "
- " ˢave "
- " eˣport "
selection_cli_hklm:
CommandLine|contains:
- hklm
- hk˪m
- hkey_local_machine
- hkey_˪ocal_machine
- hkey_loca˪_machine
- hkey_˪oca˪_machine
selection_cli_hive:
CommandLine|contains:
- \system
- \sam
- \security
- \ˢystem
- \syˢtem
- \ˢyˢtem
- \ˢam
- \ˢecurity
condition: all of selection_*
falsepositives:
- Dumping hives for legitimate purpouse i.e. backup or forensic investigation
level: high
license: DRL-1.1