Detection rules › Splunk
ComputerDefaults UAC Bypass (Sysmon)
computerdefaults.exe is a legitimate Windows executable handling the Default Programs feature in Windows. This feature allows users to set default programs for specific tasks such as web browsing, email, and media playback. Threat actors may modify the registry to have computerdefaults.exe run arbitrary commands when executed, potentially leading to UAC bypass. This use case detects modifications to the registry key HKCU\Software\Classes\ms-settings\shell\open\command which is associated with computerdefaults.exe
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Privilege Escalation |
References
Telemetry coverage
Rule body
id: '32258.57437'
title: ComputerDefaults UAC Bypass
description: 'computerdefaults.exe is a legitimate Windows executable handling the
Default Programs feature in Windows. This feature allows users to set default programs
for specific tasks such as web browsing, email, and media playback. Threat actors
may modify the registry to have computerdefaults.exe run arbitrary commands when
executed, potentially leading to UAC bypass. This use case detects modifications
to the registry key HKCU\Software\Classes\ms-settings\shell\open\command which is
associated with computerdefaults.exe. Atomics T1548.002 Test #5 Living Off the Land
Binary and Scripts (LOLBAS) (LOLBIN)'
logic_format: Splunk
logic: ' `get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_sysmon` (TERM(EventCode=12) OR "<EventID>12<"
OR TERM(EventCode=13) OR "<EventID>13<") OR ((TERM(EventCode=1) OR "<EventID>1<")
"ADD" OR "Set-ItemProperty" OR "sp " OR "New-Item" OR "New-ItemProperty" OR "ni")
"\\software\\classes\\ms-settings\\shell\\open\\command" "DelegateExecute" | table
_time, host, user ObjectName, process, process_*, parent_process_name | bin span=1s
| stats values(*) as * by _time, host '
techniques:
- privilege-escalation:abuse elevation control mechanism:bypass user account control
technique_id:
- T1548.002
data_category:
- Windows Sysmon
references:
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1548.002/T1548.002.md
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`get_endpoint_data` `get_endpoint_data_sysmon` (TERM(EventCode=12) OR "<EventID>12<" OR TERM(EventCode=13) OR "<EventID>13<") OR ((TERM(EventCode=1) OR "<EventID>1<") "ADD" OR "Set-ItemProperty" OR "sp " OR "New-Item" OR "New-ItemProperty" OR "ni") "\\software\\classes\\ms-settings\\shell\\open\\command" "DelegateExecute"
Stage 2: table
| table _time, host, user ObjectName, process, process_*, parent_process_name
Stage 3: bucket
| bin span=1s
Stage 4: stats
| stats values(*) as * by _time, host
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
EventCode | eq |
| field:"EventID" kind:eq |
Search terms
These SPL tokens match against raw event text.
| Stage | Term |
|---|---|
| 1 | "<EventID>12<" |
| 1 | "<EventID>13<" |
| 1 | "<EventID>1<" |
| 1 | "ADD" |
| 1 | "Set-ItemProperty" |
| 1 | "sp " |
| 1 | "New-Item" |
| 1 | "New-ItemProperty" |
| 1 | "ni" |
| 1 | "\\software\\classes\\ms-settings\\shell\\open\\command" |
| 1 | "DelegateExecute" |