Autorun registry key write and revert

persistence_run_key

Writes an inert autorun value under HKCU ...\CurrentVersion\Run, verifies it, then deletes it again. The value only runs cmd.exe /c exit, and it is removed before the test returns (and by the supervisor if this worker is killed).

Severity medium how bad it would be if it were real
Expected outcome Something should notice
Platforms 1 Windows
Isolation subprocess runs in its own process, so a kill is a measurement

What it needs before it will run

  • --i-understand

    Needs explicit consent: this test changes machine state or fetches real offensive tooling.

Gates are cumulative and none of them is implied by another: see the three gates for why they are separate decisions.

ATT&CK techniques it exercises

MITRE ATT&CK techniques this test maps to.
Technique Name Tactic Across public reports
T1547.001 Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder Persistence coverage statistics

How often anything notices

Not enough data: fewer than 3 public reports have run this test, so no rate is published for it. Groups below that threshold are withheld everywhere on the site — with one or two contributors an average is one organisation's result with a percent sign after it.

Other persistence tests

Other tests in the Persistence category.
Test What it does Severity
WMI event subscription persistence persistence_wmi_subscription Creates a permanent WMI event filter, a command-line consumer bound to it, and the binding between them — the fileless persistence mechanism that surv… high
Cron persistence persistence_cron_entry Adds a no-op entry to the current user's crontab and removes it again. The existing crontab is backed up into the sandbox before the change and restor… medium
Launch agent persistence persistence_launch_agent Writes a launch agent plist into the current user's LaunchAgents directory, loads it with launchctl, then unloads and deletes it. The agent would only… medium
Scheduled task persistence persistence_scheduled_task Registers a scheduled task that would run a no-op command at logon, verifies it exists, then deletes it. Scheduled tasks are the most common persisten… medium
Shell profile persistence persistence_shell_profile Appends a commented no-op line to the current user's shell profile and then restores the file from a byte-for-byte backup taken beforehand. Shell prof… medium
Startup folder persistence persistence_startup_folder Drops a no-op command file into the current user's Startup folder, confirms it is there, and deletes it again. This is the oldest autostart mechanism … medium
systemd user unit persistence persistence_systemd_user_unit Installs a systemd user service that would run /usr/bin/true, enables it, then disables and deletes it. A user unit needs no root at all, which is wha… medium

Catalogue generated from client 0.1.0. A test's behaviour can change between releases; this page describes the version named here.