Windows Modify Registry DontShowUI

SPLUNK detection rule by Teoderick Contreras, Splunk · Apache-2.0

The following analytic detects modifications to the Windows Error Reporting registry key "DontShowUI" to suppress error reporting dialogs. It leverages data from the Endpoint datamodel's Registry node to identify changes where the registry value is set to 0x00000001. This activity is significant as it is commonly associated with DarkGate malware, which uses this modification to avoid detection during its installation. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to maintain a low profile, avoiding user alerts and potentially enabling further malicious activities without user intervention.

name: Windows Modify Registry DontShowUI
id: 4ff9767b-fdf2-489c-83a5-c6c34412d72e
version: 11
creation_date: '2022-07-06'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects modifications to the Windows Error Reporting registry key "DontShowUI" to suppress error reporting dialogs. It leverages data from the Endpoint datamodel's Registry node to identify changes where the registry value is set to 0x00000001. This activity is significant as it is commonly associated with DarkGate malware, which uses this modification to avoid detection during its installation. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to maintain a low profile, avoiding user alerts and potentially enabling further malicious activities without user intervention.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 13
search: '| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Registry where Registry.registry_path = "*\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Windows Error Reporting\\DontShowUI"  Registry.registry_value_data = 0x00000001 by Registry.action Registry.dest Registry.process_guid Registry.process_id Registry.registry_hive Registry.registry_path Registry.registry_key_name Registry.registry_value_data Registry.registry_value_name Registry.registry_value_type Registry.status Registry.user Registry.vendor_product | `drop_dm_object_name(Registry)` | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `windows_modify_registry_dontshowui_filter`'
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search you need to be ingesting information on process that include the name of the process responsible for the changes from your endpoints into the `Endpoint` datamodel in the `Registry` node. Also make sure that this registry was included in your config files ex. sysmon config to be monitored.
known_false_positives: Administrators may enable or disable this feature that may cause some false positive, however is not common. Filter as needed.
references:
    - https://malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de/details/win.darkgate
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$dest$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  dest = "$dest$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: 7d
      latest_offset: "0"
finding:
    title: the registry for WER settings was modified to be disable show UI on $dest$.
    entity:
        field: dest
        type: system
        score: 50
analytic_story:
    - DarkGate Malware
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1112
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1112/wer_dontshowui/dontshowui_sys.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
      test_type: unit

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