Sigma rule: Disable PUA Protection on Windows Defender

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-a046f2afcb5d, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Disable PUA Protection on Windows Defender
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Austin Songer @austinsonger
Date
2021-08-04
Modified
2023-08-17
File
rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_disabled_pua_protection_on_microsoft_defender.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects disabling Windows Defender PUA protection

Log source

product
windows
category
registry_set

Detection

selection:
    TargetObject|contains: '\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\PUAProtection'
    Details: 'DWORD (0x00000000)'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.defense-impairment
  • attack.t1685

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/rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_disabled_pua_protection_on_microsoft_defender.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Disable PUA Protection on Windows Defender" by Austin Songer @austinsonger (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_disabled_pua_protection_on_microsoft_defender.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: Disable PUA Protection on Windows Defender",
entity page, dataset version ref-a046f2afcb5d, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/8ffc5407-52e3-478f-9596-0a7371eafe13 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 8ffc5407-52e3-478f-9596-0a7371eafe13, 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.