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Windows UAC Bypass Indicator via sdclt Registry Key Manipulation

Alerts on registry set activity consistent with sdclt-related UAC bypass key manipulation.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
registry_set
Author
Omer Yampel, Christian Burkard (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2017-03-17
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 registry modifications tied to UAC bypass behavior by matching specific TargetObject paths associated with sdclt.exe registry entries. Attackers use this technique to influence elevated execution flows without triggering the typical user consent prompt. The detection relies on Windows registry set telemetry capturing the modified TargetObject fields and, in one case, a Details value matching a path pattern.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1548.002 — drag to rearrange
Malicious FodHelper UAC Bypass via ms-settings Shell Command Hijack (via registry_set)
Suspicious Banana RAT UAC Skip Environment Variable in PowerShell
Malicious UAC Bypass via sdclt Handler Hijack (via registry_set)
Malicious UAC Bypass via ms-settings Handler Hijack (via registry_set)
Malicious DBatLoader DLL Sideloading via easinvoker.exe Loading netutils.dll (via image_load)
Suspicious dllhost.exe Spawned with CLSID and Anomalous Parent (via process_creation)
Malicious ms-settings DelegateExecute UAC Bypass Registry Change
Malicious User Account Control Bypass via Auto-Elevating Binary Hijack (via process_creation)
Suspicious Mock Trusted Directory with Trailing Space (via process_creation)
Windows UAC Bypass Indicator via sdclt Registry Key Manipulation
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.