Potential Fodhelper UAC Bypass

Status: available
Severity: medium
Time window: 2h
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

This detection looks for the steps required to conduct a UAC bypass using Fodhelper.exe. By default this detection looks for the setting of the required registry keys and the invoking of the process within 1 hour - this can be tweaked as required.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Privilege Escalation	`T1548.002` Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Bypass User Account Control

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Security-Auditing	Event ID 4657	A registry value was modified.
Security-Auditing	Event ID 4688	A new process has been created.

Rule body kusto

id: 56f3f35c-3aca-4437-a1fb-b7a84dc4af00
name: Potential Fodhelper UAC Bypass
description: |
  'This detection looks for the steps required to conduct a UAC bypass using Fodhelper.exe. By default this detection looks for the setting of the required registry keys and the invoking of the process within 1 hour - this can be tweaked as required.'
severity: Medium
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: SecurityEvents
    dataTypes:
      - SecurityEvent
  - connectorId: WindowsSecurityEvents
    dataTypes:
      - SecurityEvent
queryFrequency: 2h
queryPeriod: 2h
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
status: Available
tactics:
  - PrivilegeEscalation
relevantTechniques:
  - T1548.002
query: |
  SecurityEvent
    | where EventID == 4657
    | parse ObjectName with "\\REGISTRY\\" KeyPrefix "\\" RegistryKey
    | project-reorder RegistryKey
    | where RegistryKey has "Software\\Classes\\ms-settings\\shell\\open\\command"
    | extend TimeKey = bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)
    | join (
    SecurityEvent
    | where EventID == 4688
    | where Process =~ "fodhelper.exe"
    | where ParentProcessName endswith "cmd.exe" or ParentProcessName endswith "powershell.exe" or ParentProcessName endswith "powershell_ise.exe"
    | extend TimeKey = bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)) on TimeKey, Computer
    | extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Computer, '.'))
    | extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Computer, DomainIndex + 1), Computer)
    | extend AccountName = tostring(split(TargetAccount, @'\')[1]), AccountNTDomain = tostring(split(TargetAccount, @'\')[0])
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Host
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: Computer
      - identifier: HostName
        columnName: HostName
      - identifier: DnsDomain
        columnName: HostNameDomain
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: TargetAccount
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: AccountName
      - identifier: NTDomain
        columnName: AccountNTDomain
version: 1.0.2
kind: Scheduled

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `source`

SecurityEvent

Stage 2: `where`

| where EventID == 4657

Stage 3: `parse`

| parse ObjectName with "\\REGISTRY\\" KeyPrefix "\\" RegistryKey

Stage 4: `project-reorder`

| project-reorder RegistryKey

Stage 5: `where`

| where RegistryKey has "Software\\Classes\\ms-settings\\shell\\open\\command"

Stage 6: `extend`

| extend TimeKey = bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)

Stage 7: `join`

| join (
  SecurityEvent
  | where EventID == 4688
  | where Process =~ "fodhelper.exe"
  | where ParentProcessName endswith "cmd.exe" or ParentProcessName endswith "powershell.exe" or ParentProcessName endswith "powershell_ise.exe"
  | extend TimeKey = bin(TimeGenerated, 1h)) on TimeKey, Computer

Stage 8: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

| extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Computer, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Computer, DomainIndex + 1), Computer)
| extend AccountName = tostring(split(TargetAccount, @'\')[1]), AccountNTDomain = tostring(split(TargetAccount, @'\')[0])

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

Field	Kind	Values
`EventID`	eq	`4657` transforms: `cased` corpus 17 (splunk 14, kusto 3) `4688` transforms: `cased` corpus 313 (splunk 283, kusto 30)
`ParentProcessName`	ends_with	`cmd.exe` corpus 2 (kusto 2) `powershell.exe` corpus 2 (kusto 2) `powershell_ise.exe` corpus 2 (kusto 2)
`Process`	eq	`fodhelper.exe`
`RegistryKey`	match	`Software\\Classes\\ms-settings\\shell\\open\\command` transforms: `term` corpus 2 (kusto 2)

Output fields

Fields the rule emits when it matches. Chronicle authors list these in the outcome block; they appear on the detection and $risk_score drives alerting. Sentinel / Defender XDR rules build them up through project / summarize / extend stages. Sentinel maps these into alert fields via entityMappings and customDetails; Defender XDR custom detections surface them as alert fields directly.

Field	Source
`TimeKey`	`extend`
`DomainIndex`	`extend`
`HostName`	`extend`
`HostNameDomain`	`extend`
`AccountNTDomain`	`extend`
`AccountName`	`extend`

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)

Potential Fodhelper UAC Bypass

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `parse`

Stage 4: `project-reorder`

Stage 5: `where`

Stage 6: `extend`

Stage 7: `join`

Stage 8: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Potential Fodhelper UAC Bypass

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: source

Stage 2: where

Stage 3: parse

Stage 4: project-reorder

Stage 5: where

Stage 6: extend

Stage 7: join

Stage 8: extend (3 consecutive steps)

Indicators

Output fields

Stage 1: `source`

Stage 2: `where`

Stage 3: `parse`

Stage 4: `project-reorder`

Stage 5: `where`

Stage 6: `extend`

Stage 7: `join`

Stage 8: `extend` (3 consecutive steps)