Elastic Security Detection Rules

Network-Level Authentication (NLA) Disabled

Last updated 5 months ago on 2025-03-20
Created 2 years ago on 2023-08-25

About

Identifies the attempt to disable Network-Level Authentication (NLA) via registry modification. Network Level Authentication (NLA) is a feature on Windows that provides an extra layer of security for Remote Desktop (RDP) connections, as it requires users to authenticate before allowing a full RDP session. Attackers can disable NLA to enable persistence methods that require access to the Windows sign-in screen without authenticating, such as Accessibility Features persistence methods, like Sticky Keys.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: WindowsUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Defense EvasionData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: Elastic EndgameData Source: Microsoft Defender for EndpointData Source: SentinelOneData Source: SysmonLanguage: eql
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

Defense Evasion (TA0005)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Modify Registry (T1112)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Impair Defenses (T1562)(opens in a new tab or window)

License
Elastic License v2(opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-endpoint.events.registry-*endgame-*logs-m365_defender.event-*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*logs-windows.sysmon_operational-*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

m365_defender(opens in a new tab or window)

sentinel_one_cloud_funnel(opens in a new tab or window)

windows(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
registry where host.os.type == "windows" and event.action != "deletion" and registry.value : "UserAuthentication" and
  registry.path : (
    "HKLM\\SYSTEM\\ControlSet*\\Control\\Terminal Server\\WinStations\\RDP-Tcp\\UserAuthentication",
    "\\REGISTRY\\MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\*ControlSet*\\Control\\Terminal Server\\WinStations\\RDP-Tcp\\UserAuthentication",
    "MACHINE\\SYSTEM\\*ControlSet*\\Control\\Terminal Server\\WinStations\\RDP-Tcp\\UserAuthentication"
  ) and registry.data.strings :  ("0", "0x00000000")

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Network-Level Authentication (NLA) Disabled in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(opens in a new tab or window).