Unusual Child Processes of RunDLL32

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Identifies child processes of unusual instances of RunDLL32 where the command line parameters were suspicious. Misuse of RunDLL32 could indicate malicious activity.

Rule type: eql

Rule indices:

  • logs-endpoint.events.*
  • winlogbeat-*

Severity: high

Risk score: 21

Runs every: 5 minutes

Searches indices from: now-9m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time)

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

Tags:

  • Elastic
  • Host
  • Windows
  • Threat Detection
  • Defense Evasion

Version: 1

Added (Elastic Stack release): 7.10.0

Rule authors: Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License

Rule query

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sequence with maxspan=1h [process where event.type in ("start",
"process_started") and /*
uncomment once in winlogbeat */ (process.name : "rundll32.exe" /*
or process.pe.original_file_name == "RUNDLL32.EXE" */ ) and
process.args_count < 2 ] by process.entity_id [process where
event.type in ("start", "process_started") and process.parent.name :
"rundll32.exe" ] by process.parent.entity_id

Threat mapping

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Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM