UAC Bypass Attempt via Elevated COM Internet Explorer Add-On Installer

Last updated 5 months ago on 2025-03-20
Created 5 years ago on 2020-11-03

About

Identifies User Account Control (UAC) bypass attempts by abusing an elevated COM Interface to launch a malicious program. Attackers may attempt to bypass UAC to stealthily execute code with elevated permissions.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: WindowsUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Privilege EscalationTactic: Defense EvasionTactic: ExecutionData Source: Elastic EndgameData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: SysmonData Source: Microsoft Defender for EndpointData Source: SentinelOneLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Privilege Escalation (TA0004)(opens in a new tab or window)

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

Execution (TA0002)(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
winlogbeat-*logs-endpoint.events.process-*logs-windows.sysmon_operational-*endgame-*logs-m365_defender.event-*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

windows(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)

Query
process where host.os.type == "windows" and event.type == "start" and
 process.executable : "C:\\*\\AppData\\*\\Temp\\IDC*.tmp\\*.exe" and
 process.parent.name : "ieinstal.exe" and process.parent.args : "-Embedding"

 /* uncomment once in winlogbeat */
 /* and not (process.code_signature.subject_name == "Microsoft Corporation" and process.code_signature.trusted == true) */

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect UAC Bypass Attempt via Elevated COM Internet Explorer Add-On Installer 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).