Disable ETW Through Registry

name: Disable ETW Through Registry
id: f0eacfa4-d33f-11eb-8f9d-acde48001122
version: 12
date: '2026-03-10'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk, Steven Dick
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects modifications to the registry that disable the Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) feature. It leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model, specifically monitoring changes to the registry path "*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\.NETFramework\\ETWEnabled" with a value set to "0x00000000". This activity is significant because disabling ETW can allow attackers to evade detection mechanisms, making it harder for security tools to monitor malicious activities. If confirmed malicious, this could enable attackers to execute payloads with minimal alerts, impairing defenses and potentially leading to further compromise of the system.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 13
search: '| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Registry WHERE (Registry.registry_path= "*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\.NETFramework\\ETWEnabled" Registry.registry_value_data = "0x00000000") by Registry.action Registry.dest Registry.process_guid Registry.process_id Registry.registry_hive Registry.registry_path Registry.registry_key_name Registry.registry_value_data Registry.registry_value_name Registry.registry_value_type Registry.status Registry.user Registry.vendor_product | `drop_dm_object_name(Registry)` | where isnotnull(registry_value_data) | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `disable_etw_through_registry_filter`'
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the registry value name, registry path, and registry value data from your endpoints. If you are using Sysmon, you must have at least version 2.0 of the official Sysmon TA. https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/5709
known_false_positives: network operator may disable this feature of windows but not so common.
references:
    - https://app.any.run/tasks/c0f98850-af65-4352-9746-fbebadee4f05/
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$dest$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  dest = "$dest$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") starthoursago=168  | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
rba:
    message: Disable ETW Through Registry on $dest$
    risk_objects:
        - field: dest
          type: system
          score: 50
    threat_objects: []
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - Ransomware
        - CISA AA23-347A
        - Windows Registry Abuse
    asset_type: Endpoint
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1562.001
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
        - Splunk Enterprise Security
        - Splunk Cloud
    security_domain: endpoint
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/malware/ransomware_ttp/data2/windows-sysmon.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog