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Windows Registry: New ODBC Driver Registration in Suspicious Path

Alerts when Windows registers a new ODBC driver under the ODBCINST.INI area with details pointing to suspicious filesystem paths.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
registry_set
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2023-05-23
Updated
2026-07-30
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 registry entries for newly registered ODBC drivers and setups whose driver-related strings contain paths commonly associated with staging, writable locations, or unusual system subfolders. Attackers can use ODBC driver registration as a persistence mechanism or to execute malicious logic via legitimate database connectivity components. The detection relies on registry set event telemetry that includes the TargetObject and Details fields for the ODBCINST.INI driver registration location.

Reporting behind it

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Windows Registry: New ODBC Driver Registration in Suspicious Path
Pivot detection · T1003 · 9 related

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