T1070.001 Clear Windows Event Logs
sub-techniqueEnterpriserevokedAdversaries may clear Windows Event Logs to hide the activity of an intrusion. Windows Event Logs are a record of a computer's alerts and notifications. There are three system-defined sources of events: System, Application, and Security, with five event types: Error, Warning, Information, Success Audit, and Failure Audit. With administrator privileges, the event logs can be cleared with the following utility commands: * <code>wevtutil cl system</code> * <code>wevtutil cl application</code> * <code>wevtutil cl security</code> These logs may also be cleared through other mechanisms, such as the event viewer GUI or PowerShell. For example, adversaries may use the PowerShell command <code>Remove-EventLog -LogName Security</code> to delete the Security EventLog and after reboot, disable future logging. Note: events may still be generated and logged in the.evtx file between the time the command is run and the reboot. Adversaries may also attempt to clear logs by directly deleting the stored log files within `C:\Windows\System32\winevt\logs\`.
platforms
Platforms this applies to.
tactics
ATT&CK tactics this technique serves.
countered by (D3FEND)
D3FEND countermeasures that counter this.
NIST CSF 2.0 — areas of relevance (Protect / Detect)
NIST CSF 2.0 areas this most relates to (evidence-ranked).
- PR.AAIdentity Management, Authentication, and Access Controlmoderate · backed by 8 of 21 mapped controls
- PR.DSData Securitymoderate · backed by 8 of 21 mapped controls
- DE.CMContinuous Monitoringmoderate · backed by 5 of 21 mapped controls
Derived from MITRE CTID (Apache-2.0) and the NIST 800-53 ↔ CSF crosswalk (public domain). Indicative relevance along the Protect/Detect axis — not a compliance assessment or coverage claim.
mitigating controls (21)
Security controls that mitigate this.
known-exploited CVEs (1)
Related CVEs.
| ID | severity | exploitable | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-36884US | —OT critical | KEV | ||
Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability | ||||
source
Where this definition is published.