New addition to Windows Defender exclusion list

Cortex XDR Analytics Alert Reference by data source

Product

Cortex XDR

Last date published

2024-12-03

Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Hour
Required Data	Requires: XDR Agent
Detection Modules
Detector Tags
ATT&CK Tactic	Defense Evasion (TA0005)
ATT&CK Technique	Hide Artifacts: File/Path Exclusions (T1564.012) Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools (T1562.001)
Severity	Low

Windows Defender keeps the exclusion list in the Registry, and any addition to it will cause it to ignore a process, path or file extension.

Gain code execution on the host and evade security controls.

Check whether the executing process is benign, and if this was a desired behavior as part of its normal execution flow.
Check the excluded object type (process, path or extension) and nature.
Check if the excluded object is malicious.

ATT&CK Tactic

ATT&CK Technique

Severity

Medium

Windows Defender keeps the exclusion list in the Registry, and any addition to it will cause it to ignore a process, path or file extension.

Gain code execution on the host and evade security controls.

Check whether the executing process is benign, and if this was a desired behavior as part of its normal execution flow.
Check the excluded object type (process, path or extension) and nature.
Check if the excluded object is malicious.