splunk_escuTTP

Windows Impair Defense Change Win Defender Tracing Level

The following analytic detects modifications to the Windows registry specifically targeting the "WppTracingLevel" setting within Windows Defender. This detection leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model to identify changes in the registry path associated with Windows Defender tracing levels. Such modifications are significant as they can impair the diagnostic capabilities of Windows Defender, potentially hiding malicious activities. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow an attacker to evade detection and maintain persistence within the environment, leading to further compromise and data exfiltration.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1562.001

Detection Query

| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Registry where Registry.registry_path= "*\\Windows Defender\\Reporting\\WppTracingLevel" Registry.registry_value_data="0x00000001" 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)` | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `windows_impair_defense_change_win_defender_tracing_level_filter`

Author

Teoderick Contreras, Splunk

Created

2026-04-15

Data Sources

Sysmon EventID 13

References

Tags

Windows Defense Evasion TacticsWindows Registry Abuse

Raw Content

name: Windows Impair Defense Change Win Defender Tracing Level
id: fe9391cd-952a-4c64-8f56-727cb0d4f2d4
version: 9
date: '2026-04-15'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 13
description: The following analytic detects modifications to the Windows registry specifically targeting the "WppTracingLevel" setting within Windows Defender. This detection leverages data from the Endpoint.Registry data model to identify changes in the registry path associated with Windows Defender tracing levels. Such modifications are significant as they can impair the diagnostic capabilities of Windows Defender, potentially hiding malicious activities. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow an attacker to evade detection and maintain persistence within the environment, leading to further compromise and data exfiltration.
search: '| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Registry where Registry.registry_path= "*\\Windows Defender\\Reporting\\WppTracingLevel" Registry.registry_value_data="0x00000001" 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)` | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `windows_impair_defense_change_win_defender_tracing_level_filter`'
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search you need to be ingesting information on process that include the name of the process responsible for the changes from your endpoints into the `Endpoint` datamodel in the `Registry` node.
known_false_positives: It is unusual to turn this feature off a Windows system since it is a default security control, although it is not rare for some policies to disable it. Although no false positives have been identified, use the provided filter macro to tune the search.
references:
    - https://x.com/malmoeb/status/1742604217989415386?s=20
    - https://github.com/undergroundwires/privacy.sexy
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 ("$dest$") | 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: 7d
      latest_offset: "0"
rba:
    message: Windows Defender WppTracingLevel registry was modified on $dest$.
    risk_objects:
        - field: dest
          type: system
          score: 50
    threat_objects: []
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - Windows Defense Evasion Tactics
        - 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/attack_techniques/T1562.001/disable-windows-security-defender-features/windefender-bypas-2-sysmon.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog