Sigma rule: Windows Vulnerable Driver Blocklist Disabled

Rule

Title

Windows Vulnerable Driver Blocklist Disabled

Status

experimental

Level

high

Author

Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)

Date

2026-01-26

File

rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_vulnerable_driver_blocklist_disable.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects when the Windows Vulnerable Driver Blocklist is set to disabled. This setting is crucial for preventing the loading of known vulnerable drivers,
and its modification may indicate an attempt to bypass security controls. It is often targeted by threat actors to facilitate the installation of malicious or vulnerable drivers,
particularly in scenarios involving Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) bypass techniques.
This rule applies to systems that support the Vulnerable Driver Blocklist feature, including Windows 10 version 1903 and later, and Windows Server 2022 and later.
Note that this change will require a reboot to take effect, and this rule only detects the registry modification action.

Log source

product

windows

category

registry_set

Detection

selection:
    TargetObject|endswith: '\Control\CI\Config\VulnerableDriverBlocklistEnable'
    Details: 'DWORD (0x00000000)'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Unlikely and should be investigated immediately.

Tags

• attack.defense-impairment
• attack.t1685

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1685

Related rules

• 22154f0e-5132-4a54-aa78-cc62f6def531 (similar)

References

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/windows-defender-application-control/microsoft-recommended-driver-block-rules
• 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/registry/registry_set/registry_set_vulnerable_driver_blocklist_disable.yml