huntrule

Windows Sysmon Driver Altitude Registry Changes

Identifies registry writes that change the Sysmon instance altitude value, which can disrupt Sysmon loading at boot.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
registry_set
Author
B.Talebi (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-07-28
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

  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 matches registry writes that update the Sysmon instance altitude value under the Services Instances path. Changing the driver altitude can be used to interfere with Sysmon’s ability to load correctly at boot, impacting monitoring through defense impairment. Detection relies on registry set events containing the TargetObject paths that include \Services\ and end with \Instances\Sysmon Instance\Altitude.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious EDR Evasion Driver Load from AnyDesk Directory via k.sys (via image_load)
Malicious Zemana Vulnerable Driver Load for EDR Termination (via image_load)
Windows Sysmon Driver Altitude Registry Changes
Pivot detection · T1685 · 9 related

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