Windows registry autorun forensics

Windows Registry Autorun Forensics

When to Use

• During triage of a potentially compromised Windows system to identify how malware survives reboots.
• After extracting the registry hives (SAM, SYSTEM, SOFTWARE, NTUSER.DAT) from a forensic disk image for offline analysis.

Prerequisites

• Forensic image or live access to the affected system(s)
• Forensic workstation with analysis tools (Autopsy, Volatility, Timeline Explorer)
• Chain of custody documentation initiated for evidence handling
• Write-blocker for disk forensics or memory acquisition tool (e.g., DumpIt, WinPmem)

Workflow

Phase 1: Identifying Run / RunOnce Keys

# Concept: Windows Registry Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"
Get-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run"

Phase 2: Detecting IFEO (Image File Execution Options) Injection

# Get-ChildItem -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options" | Select-Object Name | Where-Object { $_.Name -match "sethc.exe|utilman.exe" }
# ```

### Phase 3: Inspecting Services Registry Keys

```powershell
# Get-ChildItem -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services" | Where-Object { (Get-ItemProperty $_.PSPath).ImagePath -match "C:\\Users\\|C:\\ProgramData\\" } | Select-Object Name, @{Name="ImagePath"; Expression={(Get-ItemProperty $_.PSPath).ImagePath}}

Phase 4: Offline Analysis using RegRipper

# # rip.pl -r /mnt/evidence/Windows/System32/config/SOFTWARE -p run
rip.pl -r /mnt/evidence/Users/Bob/NTUSER.DAT -p userinit

Decision Point 🔀

flowchart TD
    A[Extract Hives ] --> B{Parse Keys ]}
    B -->|Yes| C[Identify Anomalies ]
    B -->|No| D[Check Alternate ]
    C --> E[Extract Artifacts ]

🔵 Blue Team Detection & Defense

• Sysinternals Autoruns: Registry Key Auditing (GPO): Registry Activity Monitoring (Sysmon Event ID 12, 13, 14): Key Concepts | Concept | Description | |---------|-------------|

Output Format

Windows Registry Autorun Forensics — Assessment Report
============================================================
Target: [Target identifier]
Assessor: [Operator name]
Date: [Assessment date]
Scope: [Authorized scope]
MITRE ATT&CK: [Relevant technique IDs]

Findings Summary:
  [Finding 1]: [Severity] — [Brief description]
  [Finding 2]: [Severity] — [Brief description]

Detailed Results:
  Phase 1: [Phase name]
    - Result: [Outcome]
    - Evidence: [Screenshot/log reference]
    - Impact: [Business impact assessment]

  Phase 2: [Phase name]
    - Result: [Outcome]
    - Evidence: [Screenshot/log reference]
    - Impact: [Business impact assessment]

Risk Rating: [Critical/High/Medium/Low/Informational]
Recommendations:
  1. [Immediate remediation step]
  2. [Long-term hardening measure]
  3. [Monitoring/detection improvement]

📚 Shared Resources

For cross-cutting methodology applicable to all vulnerability classes, see:

• _shared/references/elite-chaining-strategy.md — Exploit chaining methodology and high-payout chain patterns
• _shared/references/elite-report-writing.md — HackerOne-optimized report writing, CWE quick reference
• _shared/references/real-world-bounties.md — Verified disclosed bounties by vulnerability class

References

• SANS: Windows Registry Forensics
• Microsoft Sysinternals: Autoruns