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Windows sdclt.exe Spawned with High Integrity (Possible UAC Bypass)

Alerts on sdclt.exe launching as High integrity, indicating possible elevated execution consistent with UAC bypass attempts.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Roberto Rodriguez (Cyb3rWard0g), OTR (Open Threat Research) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-05-02
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → Defense Evasion

  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 process creation events where sdclt.exe is started with a High integrity level. Attackers may use elevated execution paths to bypass user access controls and gain higher privileges without prompting. Detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry that includes the process image name and integrity level.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious Mock Trusted Directory with Trailing Space (via process_creation)
Windows sdclt.exe Spawned with High Integrity (Possible UAC Bypass)
Pivot detection · T1548.002 · 9 related

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