huntrule

Windows UAC Bypass via Elevated COM interface using ICMLuaUtil

Flags dllhost.exe parent launches tied to elevated COM /Processid GUIDs consistent with UAC bypass behavior on Windows.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Elastic (idea) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-09-13
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 process creation where a dllhost.exe parent launches a child process with command-line parameters containing specific /Processid GUID values associated with an elevated COM interface. Such activity can be used to bypass UAC by triggering elevated behavior through COM-based execution. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry, specifically parent process image and parent command-line content, and excludes cases where WerFault.exe is involved.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1548.002 — drag to rearrange
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Malicious UAC Bypass via ms-settings Handler Hijack (via registry_set)
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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 Elevated COM interface using ICMLuaUtil
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.