huntrule

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

Related detections9 linkedT1548.002 — drag to rearrange
Possible UAC Bypass via easinvoker Spawning Batch Script (via process_creation)
Suspicious UAC Bypass by Disabling Admin Consent Prompt via registry_set
Malicious Cloud Atlas UAC Bypass via fodhelper (via process_creation)
Suspicious computerdefaults.exe Spawning Child Process
Suspicious UAC Bypass via control.exe App Paths or Shell Open Command Hijack
Malicious UAC Bypass via COMAutoApprovalList Registry Modification (via registry_set)
Suspicious UAC Bypass via COMAutoApprovalList Registry Modification (via registry_set)
Malicious UAC Bypass via explorer.exe NOUACCHECK Argument
Suspicious UAC Bypass via ms-settings Shell Command Hijack (via registry_set)
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.