216.73.216.233

T1685.005: Clear Windows Event Logs

View on MITRE ATT&CK The MITRE Corporation · Published 15/04/2026 00:54 · Modified 27/05/2026 15:52

Essential information

MITRE technique ID
T1685.005
Confidence
75/100
Revoked
No
Published
15/04/2026 00:54
Modified
27/05/2026 15:52
Author / Source
The MITRE Corporation

Platforms

windows

Description

Adversaries 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: * `wevtutil cl system` * `wevtutil cl application` * `wevtutil cl security` These logs may also be cleared through other mechanisms, such as the event viewer GUI or [PowerShell](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/001). For example, adversaries may use the PowerShell command `Remove-EventLog -LogName Security` 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.(Citation: disable_win_evt_logging) Adversaries may also attempt to clear logs by directly deleting the stored log files within `C:\Windows\System32\winevt\logs\`.

Kill chain phases

Kill chainPhase
mitre-attack defense-impairment
mitre-attack-v19 defense-impairment

Marking (TLP)

Copyright 2015-2025, The MITRE Corporation. MITRE ATT&CK and ATT&CK are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation.

External references