Potential Persistence Via Disk Cleanup Handler - Registry
Detects when an attacker modifies values of the Disk Cleanup Handler in the registry to achieve persistence. The disk cleanup manager is part of the operating system. It displays the dialog box […] The user has the…
Description
Detects when an attacker modifies values of the Disk Cleanup Handler in the registry to achieve persistence. The disk cleanup manager is part of the operating system. It displays the dialog box […] The user has the option of enabling or disabling individual handlers by selecting or clearing their check box in the disk cleanup manager's UI. Although Windows comes with a number of disk cleanup handlers, they aren't designed to handle files produced by other applications. Instead, the disk cleanup manager is designed to be flexible and extensible by enabling any developer to implement and register their own disk cleanup handler. Any developer can extend the available disk cleanup services by implementing and registering a disk cleanup handler.
Detection logic
Detection requirements
- Log source product
- windows
- Log source category
- registry_add
Known benign triggers
- Legitimate new entry added by windows
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
Not mapped to ATT&CK.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| persistence-info.github.io/Data/diskcleanuphandler.html | 2 |
| www.hexacorn.com/blog/2018/09/02/beyond-good-ol-run-key-part-86/ | 2 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- d4f4e0be-cf12-439f-9e25-4e2cdcf7df5a
- Tagged by the source as
- attack.persistence
Licence
- Published under
- Detection Rule License 1.1Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Published
- Aug 26, 2026
- Version
- 1