sigmamediumHunting

PUA - Sysinternals Tools Execution - Registry

Detects the execution of some potentially unwanted tools such as PsExec, Procdump, etc. (part of the Sysinternals suite) via the creation of the "accepteula" registry key.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1588.002

resource-development

Detection Query

selection:
  TargetObject|contains:
    - \Active Directory Explorer
    - \Handle
    - \LiveKd
    - \Process Explorer
    - \ProcDump
    - \PsExec
    - \PsLoglist
    - \PsPasswd
    - \SDelete
    - \Sysinternals
  TargetObject|endswith: \EulaAccepted
condition: selection

Author

Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)

Created

2022-08-24

Data Sources

windowsRegistry Set Events

Platforms

windows

References

https://twitter.com/Moti_B/status/1008587936735035392

Tags

attack.resource-developmentattack.t1588.002

Raw Content

title: PUA - Sysinternals Tools Execution - Registry
id: c7da8edc-49ae-45a2-9e61-9fd860e4e73d
related:
    - id: 25ffa65d-76d8-4da5-a832-3f2b0136e133
      type: derived
    - id: 9841b233-8df8-4ad7-9133-b0b4402a9014
      type: obsolete
status: test
description: Detects the execution of some potentially unwanted tools such as PsExec, Procdump, etc. (part of the Sysinternals suite) via the creation of the "accepteula" registry key.
references:
    - https://twitter.com/Moti_B/status/1008587936735035392
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2022-08-24
modified: 2025-10-26
tags:
    - attack.resource-development
    - attack.t1588.002
logsource:
    product: windows
    category: registry_set
detection:
    selection:
        TargetObject|contains:
            - '\Active Directory Explorer'
            - '\Handle'
            - '\LiveKd'
            - '\Process Explorer'
            - '\ProcDump'
            - '\PsExec'
            - '\PsLoglist'
            - '\PsPasswd'
            - '\SDelete'
            - '\Sysinternals' # Global level https://twitter.com/leonzandman/status/1561736801953382400
        TargetObject|endswith: '\EulaAccepted'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of SysInternals tools. Filter the legitimate paths used in your environment
level: medium
regression_tests_path: regression_data/rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_pua_sysinternals_susp_execution_via_eula/info.yml