{"description":"Trending threats, MITRE ATT\u0026CK coverage, and detection metadata — refreshed continuously.","feed_url":"https://feed.craftedsignal.io/tags/ieinstal/","home_page_url":"https://feed.craftedsignal.io/","items":[{"_cs_actors":[],"_cs_cves":[],"_cs_exploited":false,"_cs_products":["Microsoft Defender XDR","SentinelOne Cloud Funnel","Elastic Defend"],"_cs_severities":["medium"],"_cs_tags":["uac-bypass","privilege-escalation","com","ieinstal"],"_cs_type":"advisory","_cs_vendors":["Microsoft","Elastic","SentinelOne"],"content_html":"\u003cp\u003eThis detection rule identifies a User Account Control (UAC) bypass technique that abuses the Internet Explorer Add-On Installer (ieinstal.exe) to launch malicious programs with elevated privileges. Attackers exploit elevated COM interfaces to circumvent UAC, allowing for stealthy code execution. The specific behavior involves executing a program from a temporary directory using ieinstal.exe with the \u003ccode\u003e-Embedding\u003c/code\u003e argument. This bypass can be utilized to perform various malicious activities, including installing malware, modifying system settings, or establishing persistence. The targeted systems are Windows endpoints where UAC is enabled. This technique matters because it allows attackers to gain unauthorized access with elevated permissions, undermining standard Windows security controls.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"attack-chain\"\u003eAttack Chain\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker gains initial access to the system, possibly through phishing or other means.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker drops a malicious executable into a temporary directory, such as \u003ccode\u003eC:\\Users\\\u0026lt;user\u0026gt;\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\IDC*.tmp\\\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker invokes \u003ccode\u003eieinstal.exe\u003c/code\u003e with the \u003ccode\u003e-Embedding\u003c/code\u003e argument, specifying the path to the malicious executable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ccode\u003eieinstal.exe\u003c/code\u003e, running with elevated privileges, launches the malicious executable due to COM object handling.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe malicious executable executes with elevated privileges, bypassing UAC prompts.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker leverages elevated privileges to perform malicious activities, such as installing malware or modifying system settings.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe attacker establishes persistence to maintain elevated access across system reboots.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"impact\"\u003eImpact\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSuccessful exploitation of this UAC bypass technique allows attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, bypassing security controls designed to prevent unauthorized system modifications. This can lead to the installation of malware, data theft, or complete system compromise. The severity of the impact is high, as it grants attackers significant control over the affected system.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"recommendation\"\u003eRecommendation\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDeploy the Sigma rule \u0026ldquo;UAC Bypass Attempt via Elevated COM Internet Explorer Add-On Installer\u0026rdquo; to your SIEM to detect potential UAC bypass attempts.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEnable Sysmon process creation logging to capture the necessary events for the Sigma rule to function correctly.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMonitor process execution from temporary directories, specifically those matching the pattern \u003ccode\u003eC:\\\\*\\\\AppData\\\\*\\\\Temp\\\\IDC*.tmp\\\\*.exe\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInvestigate any instances of \u003ccode\u003eieinstal.exe\u003c/code\u003e being executed with the \u003ccode\u003e-Embedding\u003c/code\u003e argument, as this is a key indicator of the UAC bypass attempt.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImplement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized executables from running, particularly those in temporary directories.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n","date_modified":"2024-01-03T12:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-01-03T12:00:00Z","id":"/briefs/2024-01-03-uac-bypass-ieinstal/","summary":"This threat brief details a UAC bypass technique leveraging the Internet Explorer Add-On Installer (ieinstal.exe) and Component Object Model (COM) to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.","title":"UAC Bypass Attempt via Elevated COM Internet Explorer Add-On Installer","url":"https://feed.craftedsignal.io/briefs/2024-01-03-uac-bypass-ieinstal/"}],"language":"en","title":"CraftedSignal Threat Feed — Ieinstal","version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1"}