huntrule

Windows Registry Key Change Disabling System Restore

Detects registry writes that disable Windows System Restore via policy/config keys set to DWORD 0x00000001.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
registry_set
Author
frack113 (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-04-04
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Impact

  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 registry modifications that set the System Restore policy configuration to disable it. Disabling recovery functionality can help an attacker reduce recovery options and hinder incident response. It relies on registry set telemetry, matching specific TargetObject paths ending in DisableConfig or DisableSR with a DWORD value of 0x00000001.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious Volume Shadow Copy Deletion via vssadmin
Suspicious Free Space Wipe via cipher.exe
Malicious Shadow Copy Deletion Via WMI
Volume Shadow Copy Deletion via vssadmin or wmic
Malicious Inhibit System Recovery via Backup and Shadow Copy Deletion (via process_creation)
Malicious Shadow Copy Deletion via vssadmin
Windows Registry Key Change Disabling System Restore
Pivot detection · T1490 · 9 related

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