Sigma rule: Registry Explorer Policy Modification

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-45cdf6e98045, updated 2026-10-18T00:00:00.000Z.

SigmaHQ marks this rule as deprecated.

Rule

Title
Registry Explorer Policy Modification
Status
deprecated
Level
medium
Author
frack113
Date
2022-03-18
Modified
2026-10-18
File
deprecated/windows/registry_set_set_nopolicies_user.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects registry modifications that disable internal tools or functions in explorer (malware like Agent Tesla uses this technique)

Log source

product
windows
category
registry_set

Detection

selection_set_1:
    TargetObject|endswith:
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoLogOff'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoDesktop'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoRun'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoFind'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoControlPanel'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoFileMenu'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoClose'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoSetTaskbar'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoPropertiesMyDocuments'
        - 'SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoTrayContextMenu'
    Details: 'DWORD (0x00000001)'
condition: selection_set_1

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate admin script

Tags

  • attack.persistence
  • attack.defense-impairment
  • attack.t1112

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/deprecated/windows/registry_set_set_nopolicies_user.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Registry Explorer Policy Modification" by frack113 (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/deprecated/windows/registry_set_set_nopolicies_user.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Registry Explorer Policy Modification",
entity page, dataset version ref-45cdf6e98045, updated 2026-10-18T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/1c3121ed-041b-4d97-a075-07f54f20fb4a (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 1c3121ed-041b-4d97-a075-07f54f20fb4a, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.