Sigma rule: Vulnerable Driver Blocklist Registry Tampering Via CommandLine

Rule

Title

Vulnerable Driver Blocklist Registry Tampering Via CommandLine

Status

experimental

Level

high

Author

Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)

Date

2026-01-26

File

rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_vulnerable_driver_blocklist_registry_tampering.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects tampering of the Vulnerable Driver Blocklist registry via command line tools such as PowerShell or REG.EXE.
The Vulnerable Driver Blocklist is a security feature that helps prevent the loading of known vulnerable drivers.
Disabling this feature may indicate an attempt to bypass security controls, often targeted by threat actors
to facilitate the installation of malicious or vulnerable drivers, particularly in scenarios involving Endpoint Detection and Response

Log source

product

windows

category

process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith:
          - '\powershell.exe'
          - '\pwsh.exe'
          - '\reg.exe'
    - OriginalFileName:
          - 'PowerShell.EXE'
          - 'pwsh.dll'
          - 'reg.exe'
selection_cli_1:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'add '
        - 'New-ItemProperty '
        - 'Set-ItemProperty '
        - 'si '  # SetItem Alias
selection_cli_2:
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - '\Control\CI\Config'
        - 'VulnerableDriverBlocklistEnable'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• It is very unlikely for legitimate activities to disable the Vulnerable Driver Blocklist via command line tools; thus it is recommended to investigate promptly.

Tags

• attack.defense-impairment
• attack.t1685

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1685

Related rules

• d526c60a-e236-4011-b165-831ffa52ab70 (similar)

References

• https://www.sophos.com/en-us/blog/sharpening-the-knife-gold-blades-strategic-evolution
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/application-security/application-control/app-control-for-business/design/microsoft-recommended-driver-block-rules

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