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Windows UAC Bypass via consent.exe and werfault.exe with comctl32.dll-related behavior

Alerts on consent.exe parent launching werfault.exe with high/system integrity levels, consistent with potential UAC bypass attempts.

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
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 where a parent process ending with '\consent.exe' launches a child ending with '\werfault.exe' under high/system integrity contexts. Such behavior can indicate an attempt to bypass UAC by leveraging consent flows and related common controls components. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry, specifically parent/child image paths and the reported integrity level of the executing process.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious ms-settings DelegateExecute UAC Bypass Registry Change
Malicious User Account Control Bypass via Auto-Elevating Binary Hijack (via process_creation)
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Windows UAC Bypass via consent.exe and werfault.exe with comctl32.dll-related behavior
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.