Detection rules › Splunk
Windows Known Abused DLL Loaded Suspiciously
The following analytic detects when DLLs with known abuse history are loaded from an unusual location. This activity may represent an attacker performing a DLL search order or sideload hijacking technique. These techniques are used to gain persistence as well as elevate privileges on the target system. This detection relies on Sysmon EID7 and is compatible with all Officla Sysmon TA versions.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Persistence | T1574.001 Hijack Execution Flow: DLL |
| Privilege Escalation | T1574.001 Hijack Execution Flow: DLL |
| Defense Evasion | T1574.001 Hijack Execution Flow: DLL |
Event coverage
| Provider | Event ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Sysmon | 7 | Image loaded |
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
search NOT ImageLoaded IN ("*\\Program Files*", "*\\system32\\*", "*\\syswow64\\*", "*\\wbem\\*", "*\\winsxs\\*") EventCode=7
Stage 2: stats
stats BY Image, ImageLoaded, dest, process_exec, process_guid, process_hash, process_id, process_path, service_dll_signature_exists, service_dll_signature_verified, signature, signature_id, user_id, vendor_product, loaded_file
Stage 3: rename
rename
Stage 4: eval
eval ... using (process)
Stage 5: lookup
lookup <lookup> comment, desc, islibrary, library, loaded_file
Stage 6: lookup
lookup <lookup> excluded, excludes, islibrary, library, loaded_file, loaded_file_path
Stage 7: search
search excluded=false islibrary=TRUE
Stage 8: stats
stats BY dest, loaded_file, loaded_file_path, process, process_exec, process_guid, process_hash, process_id, process_name, process_path, service_dll_signature_exists, service_dll_signature_verified, signature, signature_id, user_id, vendor_product
Stage 9: search
search
Stage 10: search
search
Stage 11: search
search `macro`
Exclusions
Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts — predicates this rule actively suppresses.
| Stage | Field | Kind | Excluded values |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ImageLoaded | in | "*\\Program Files*", "*\\system32\\*", "*\\syswow64\\*", "*\\wbem\\*", "*\\winsxs\\*" |
Indicators
Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.
| Field | Kind | Values |
|---|---|---|
EventCode | eq |
|
excluded | eq |
|
islibrary | eq |
|
Neighbors
Broader alternatives (more inclusive than this rule)
These rules match a superset of what this rule catches. They cover the same events plus more. Use them if you want wider coverage and can absorb more false positives.
- Windows Remote Access Software BRC4 Loaded Dll (drops 1 filter this rule applies)