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Windows UAC Bypass via ComputerDefaults.exe with Elevated Integrity Parent Process

Flags ComputerDefaults.exe runs at high/system integrity when the parent isn’t from typical system or Program Files paths.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Christian Burkard (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2021-08-31
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 identifies executions of C:\Windows\System32\ComputerDefaults.exe when the spawned process runs with high/system integrity levels and excludes cases where the parent process path contains common system and Program Files locations. Adversaries may use UAC bypass tooling to execute privileged actions while avoiding interactive prompts. The detection relies on process creation telemetry, including the target executable path, integrity level, and parent image path.

Reporting behind it

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Windows UAC Bypass via ComputerDefaults.exe with Elevated Integrity Parent Process
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.