IMPORTANT: No additional bug fixes or documentation updates
will be released for this version. For the latest information, see the
current release documentation.
Privilege Escalation via Windir Environment Variable
editPrivilege Escalation via Windir Environment Variable
editIdentifies a privilege escalation attempt via a rogue Windows directory (Windir) environment variable. This is a known primitive that is often combined with other vulnerabilities to elevate privileges.
Rule type: eql
Rule indices:
- logs-endpoint.events.*
Severity: high
Risk score: 73
Runs every: 5m
Searches indices from: now-9m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time)
Maximum alerts per execution: 100
References:
Tags:
- Elastic
- Host
- Windows
- Threat Detection
- Privilege Escalation
Version: 100
Rule authors:
- Elastic
Rule license: Elastic License v2
Rule query
editregistry where registry.path : ("HKEY_USERS\\*\\Environment\\windir", "HKEY_USERS\\*\\Environment\\systemroot") and
not registry.data.strings : ("C:\\windows", "%SystemRoot%")
Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM
-
Tactic:
- Name: Privilege Escalation
- ID: TA0004
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0004/
-
Technique:
- Name: Hijack Execution Flow
- ID: T1574
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1574/
-
Sub-technique:
- Name: Path Interception by PATH Environment Variable
- ID: T1574.007
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1574/007/