Disable Internal Tools or Feature in Registry

Status: test
Severity: medium
Log source: product windows, category registry_set
Author: frack113, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), CrimpSec
Source: github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma

Detects registry modifications that change features of internal Windows tools (malware like Agent Tesla uses this technique)

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Persistence	`T1112` Modify Registry
Defense Impairment	`T1112` Modify Registry

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Sysmon	Event ID 13	RegistryEvent (Value Set)

Rule body yaml

title: Disable Internal Tools or Feature in Registry
id: e2482f8d-3443-4237-b906-cc145d87a076
status: test
description: Detects registry modifications that change features of internal Windows tools (malware like Agent Tesla uses this technique)
references:
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1112/T1112.md
    - https://www.mandiant.com/resources/unc2165-shifts-to-evade-sanctions
    - https://blogs.vmware.com/security/2022/11/batloader-the-evasive-downloader-malware.html
    - https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/detections/pum-optional-nodispbackgroundpage
    - https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/detections/pum-optional-nodispcpl
    - https://bazaar.abuse.ch/sample/7bde840c7e8c36dce4c3bac937bcf39f36a6f118001b406bfbbc25451ce44fb4/
author: frack113, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), CrimpSec
date: 2022-03-18
modified: 2025-06-04
tags:
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.defense-impairment
    - attack.t1112
logsource:
    category: registry_set
    product: windows
detection:
    selection_set_1:
        TargetObject|endswith:
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\DisableCMD'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoRun'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\StartMenuLogOff'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableChangePassword'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableLockWorkstation'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableRegistryTools'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableTaskmgr'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\NoDispBackgroundPage'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\NoDispCPL'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\DisableNotificationCenter'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\DisableCMD'
        Details: 'DWORD (0x00000001)'
    selection_set_0:
        TargetObject|endswith:
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin'
            - 'Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\InactivityTimeoutSecs'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\shutdownwithoutlogon'
            - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PushNotifications\ToastEnabled'
            - 'SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Storage\Write Protection'
            - 'SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies\WriteProtect'
        Details: 'DWORD (0x00000000)'
    condition: 1 of selection_set_*
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate admin script
level: medium

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

1 of selection_set_*

Stage 1: `selection_set_1`

selection_set_1:
    TargetObject|endswith:
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\DisableCMD'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoRun'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\StartMenuLogOff'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableChangePassword'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableLockWorkstation'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableRegistryTools'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableTaskmgr'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\NoDispBackgroundPage'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\NoDispCPL'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\DisableNotificationCenter'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\DisableCMD'
    Details: 'DWORD (0x00000001)'

Stage 2: `selection_set_0`

selection_set_0:
    TargetObject|endswith:
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin'
        - 'Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\InactivityTimeoutSecs'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\shutdownwithoutlogon'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PushNotifications\ToastEnabled'
        - 'SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Storage\Write Protection'
        - 'SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies\WriteProtect'
    Details: 'DWORD (0x00000000)'

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
`Details`	eq	`DWORD (0x00000000)` corpus 38 (sigma 36, chronicle 2) `DWORD (0x00000001)` corpus 40 (sigma 36, chronicle 4)
`TargetObject`	ends_with	`SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\DisableCMD` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel` corpus 2 (sigma 2) `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoRun` corpus 2 (sigma 2) `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\StartMenuLogOff` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableChangePassword` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableLockWorkstation` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableRegistryTools` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\DisableTaskmgr` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\NoDispBackgroundPage` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\NoDispCPL` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\shutdownwithoutlogon` `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PushNotifications\ToastEnabled` `SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\DisableNotificationCenter` `SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System\DisableCMD` `SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies\WriteProtect` `SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Storage\Write Protection` `Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\InactivityTimeoutSecs`

`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)

Disable Internal Tools or Feature in Registry

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection_set_1`

Stage 2: `selection_set_0`

Indicators

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Disable Internal Tools or Feature in Registry

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body yaml

Stages and Predicates

Stage 0: condition

Stage 1: selection_set_1

Stage 2: selection_set_0

Indicators

Stage 0: `condition`

Stage 1: `selection_set_1`

Stage 2: `selection_set_0`