Sigma rule: Hiding User Account Via SpecialAccounts Registry Key

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-4676e87cf2bf, updated 2023-01-26T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Hiding User Account Via SpecialAccounts Registry Key
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), frack113
Date
2022-07-12
Modified
2023-01-26
File
rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_special_accounts.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects modifications to the registry key "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\Userlist" where the value is set to "0" in order to hide user account from being listed on the logon screen.

Log source

product
windows
category
registry_set

Detection

selection:
    TargetObject|contains: '\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList'
    Details: 'DWORD (0x00000000)'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1564.002

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

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_special_accounts.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Hiding User Account Via SpecialAccounts Registry Key" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), frack113 (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_special_accounts.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: Hiding User Account Via SpecialAccounts Registry Key",
entity page, dataset version ref-4676e87cf2bf, updated 2023-01-26T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/f8aebc67-a56d-4ec9-9fbe-7b0e8b7b4efd (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule f8aebc67-a56d-4ec9-9fbe-7b0e8b7b4efd, 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.