Windows UAC Bypass via IEInstal.exe Launching consent.exe from Temp with Elevated Integrity

Alerts on elevated consent.exe spawned by ieinstal.exe from Temp, indicating a possible Windows UAC bypass chain.

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windows-uac-bypass-via-ieinstal-exe-launching-consent-exe-from-temp-with-elevate-80fc36aa

title: Windows UAC Bypass via IEInstal.exe Launching consent.exe from Temp with Elevated Integrity
id: 70852a6e-04b6-4ede-b809-c972562b0865
status: test
description: This rule flags process creation where IEInstal.exe is the parent process for a child ending with consent.exe, and the child process runs from the AppData\Local\Temp directory. It also requires the child process integrity level to be High or System, indicating elevated execution. This behavior matters because UAC bypass techniques aim to execute elevated logic through trusted components and specific process chains. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry including parent image, child image path, and integrity level.
references:
  - https://github.com/hfiref0x/UACME
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_uac_bypass_ieinstal.yml
author: Christian Burkard (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2021-08-30
modified: 2024-12-01
tags:
  - attack.privilege-escalation
  - attack.t1548.002
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    IntegrityLevel:
      - High
      - System
      - S-1-16-16384
      - S-1-16-12288
    ParentImage|endswith: \ieinstal.exe
    Image|contains: \AppData\Local\Temp\
    Image|endswith: consent.exe
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: 80fc36aa-945e-4181-89f2-2f907ab6775d
    type: derived

What it detects

This rule flags process creation where IEInstal.exe is the parent process for a child ending with consent.exe, and the child process runs from the AppData\Local\Temp directory. It also requires the child process integrity level to be High or System, indicating elevated execution. This behavior matters because UAC bypass techniques aim to execute elevated logic through trusted components and specific process chains. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry including parent image, child image path, and integrity level.

Known false positives

Unknown

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.