Sigma rule: Disable Tamper Protection on Windows Defender

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-76a1f7ef1f33, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

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

Detects disabling Windows Defender Tamper Protection

Log source

product
windows
category
registry_set

Detection

selection:
    TargetObject|contains: '\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Features\TamperProtection'
    Details: DWORD (0x00000000)
filter_msmpeng_client: # only disabled temporarily during updates
    Image|startswith: 'C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Platform\'
    Image|endswith: '\MsMpEng.exe'
filter_msmpeng_domain_controller: # only disabled temporarily during updates
    Image: 'C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MsMpEng.exe'
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_*

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_tamper_protection_on_microsoft_defender.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Disable Tamper 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_tamper_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 Tamper Protection on Windows Defender",
entity page, dataset version ref-76a1f7ef1f33, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/93d298a1-d28f-47f1-a468-d971e7796679 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 93d298a1-d28f-47f1-a468-d971e7796679, 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.