CMLUA Or CMSTPLUA UAC Bypass

name: CMLUA Or CMSTPLUA UAC Bypass
id: f87b5062-b405-11eb-a889-acde48001122
version: 9
date: '2026-03-10'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects the use of COM objects like CMLUA or CMSTPLUA to bypass User Account Control (UAC). It leverages Sysmon EventCode 7 to identify the loading of specific DLLs (CMLUA.dll, CMSTPLUA.dll, CMLUAUTIL.dll) by processes not typically associated with these libraries. This activity is significant as it indicates an attempt to gain elevated privileges, a common tactic used by ransomware adversaries. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to execute code with administrative rights, leading to potential system compromise and further malicious activities.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 7
search: '`sysmon` EventCode=7  ImageLoaded IN ("*\\CMLUA.dll", "*\\CMSTPLUA.dll", "*\\CMLUAUTIL.dll") NOT(process_name IN("CMSTP.exe", "CMMGR32.exe")) NOT(Image IN("*\\windows\\*", "*\\program files*")) | fillnull | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by Image ImageLoaded dest loaded_file loaded_file_path original_file_name process_exec process_guid process_hash process_id process_name process_path service_dll_signature_exists service_dll_signature_verified signature signature_id user_id vendor_product | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `cmlua_or_cmstplua_uac_bypass_filter`'
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the process name and imageloaded executions from your endpoints. If you are using Sysmon, you must have at least version 6.0.4 of the Sysmon TA.
known_false_positives: Legitimate windows application that are not on the list loading this dll. Filter as needed.
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1218/003/
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: The following module $ImageLoaded$ was loaded by a non-standard application on endpoint $dest$
    risk_objects:
        - field: dest
          type: system
          score: 50
    threat_objects: []
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - DarkSide Ransomware
        - Ransomware
        - LockBit Ransomware
        - ValleyRAT
    asset_type: Endpoint
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1218.003
    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/attack_techniques/T1548/darkside_cmstp_com/windows-sysmon.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog