Windows UAC bypass via changepk.exe launched from slui.exe with elevated integrity

Flags changepk.exe execution from slui.exe with High/System integrity to identify potential UAC bypass behavior on Windows.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1

Product: windows
Category: process_creation
Author: Christian Burkard (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2021-08-23
Updated: 2026-07-30

Analysis Detection

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
- T1548.002Bypass User Account Control
Defense Evasion
- T1548.002Bypass User Account Control
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule matches process creation events where changepk.exe is started by slui.exe and the new process runs with elevated integrity levels (High or System). UAC bypass techniques often rely on trusted Windows binaries to obtain higher privileges without prompting the user. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry, including the parent process image path and the integrity level assigned to the spawned process.

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 via changepk.exe launched from slui.exe with elevated integrity

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.

windows-uac-bypass-via-changepk-exe-launched-from-slui-exe-with-elevated-integri-503d581c

title: Windows UAC bypass via changepk.exe launched from slui.exe with elevated integrity
id: 4b484a19-0234-4dd5-9bf7-d45ea0d8c5de
status: test
description: This rule matches process creation events where changepk.exe is started by slui.exe and the new process runs with elevated integrity levels (High or System). UAC bypass techniques often rely on trusted Windows binaries to obtain higher privileges without prompting the user. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry, including the parent process image path and the integrity level assigned to the spawned process.
references:
  - https://mattharr0ey.medium.com/privilege-escalation-uac-bypass-in-changepk-c40b92818d1b
  - https://github.com/hfiref0x/UACME
  - https://medium.com/falconforce/falconfriday-detecting-uac-bypasses-0xff16-86c2a9107abf
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_uac_bypass_changepk_slui.yml
author: Christian Burkard (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2021-08-23
modified: 2024-12-01
tags:
  - attack.privilege-escalation
  - attack.t1548.002
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    Image|endswith: \changepk.exe
    ParentImage|endswith: \slui.exe
    IntegrityLevel:
      - High
      - System
      - S-1-16-16384
      - S-1-16-12288
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: 503d581c-7df0-4bbe-b9be-5840c0ecc1fc
    type: derived

Convert

This rule as a query you can run. Uses no unlock credit.

SplunkSPL