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Description

The following analytic identifies modifications to the registry key that controls the enforcement of Windows User Account Control (UAC). It detects changes to the registry path HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\EnableLUA where the value is set to 0x00000000. This activity is significant because disabling UAC can allow unauthorized changes to the system without user consent, potentially leading to privilege escalation. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could gain elevated privileges, making it easier to execute further attacks or maintain persistence within the environment.

  • Type: TTP
  • Product: Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk Cloud
  • Datamodel: Endpoint
  • Last Updated: 2024-05-18
  • Author: David Dorsey, Patrick Bareiss, Splunk
  • ID: bbc644bc-37df-4e1a-9c88-ec9a53e2038c

Annotations

ATT&CK

ATT&CK

ID Technique Tactic
T1548.002 Bypass User Account Control Privilege Escalation, Defense Evasion
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation, Defense Evasion
Kill Chain Phase
  • Exploitation
NIST
  • DE.CM
CIS20
  • CIS 10
CVE 


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| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Registry where Registry.registry_path=*HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Policies\\System\\EnableLUA* Registry.registry_value_data="0x00000000" by Registry.dest, Registry.registry_key_name Registry.user Registry.registry_path Registry.registry_value_data Registry.action 
| `drop_dm_object_name(Registry)` 
| `disabling_remote_user_account_control_filter`

Macros

The SPL above uses the following Macros:

:information_source: disabling_remote_user_account_control_filter is a empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Required fields

List of fields required to use this analytic.

  • _time
  • Registry.registry_path
  • Registry.registry_value_name
  • Registry.dest
  • Registry.registry_key_name
  • Registry.user
  • Registry.action

How To Implement

To successfully implement this search, you must be ingesting data that records registry activity from your hosts to populate the endpoint data model in the registry node. This is typically populated via endpoint detection-and-response product, such as Carbon Black, or via other endpoint data sources, such as Sysmon. The data used for this search is typically generated via logs that report registry modifications.

Known False Positives

This registry key may be modified via administrators to implement a change in system policy. This type of change should be a very rare occurrence.

Associated Analytic Story

RBA

Risk Score Impact Confidence Message
42.0 70 60 The Windows registry keys that control the enforcement of Windows User Account Control (UAC) were modified on $dest$ by $user$.

:information_source: The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

Reference

Test Dataset

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

source | version: 5