Exploring Windows UAC Bypasses: Techniques and Detection Strategies

This blog-style technical report analyzes Windows User Account Control (UAC) bypass techniques (registry/environment manipulation, DLL hijacking, elevated COM interfaces, token attributes), demonstrates detection approaches including EQL/KQL examples and Elastic Endpoint features, discusses common evasion tactics, and cites observed use by malware and ransomware families (e.g., Glupteba, DarkSide, LockBit). It emphasizes focusing detections on core primitives (token attributes, registry/DLL redirection, IFileOperation activity) for broader coverage against varied bypass implementations.