Unsigned DLL loaded by DNS Service

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Identifies unusual DLLs loaded by the DNS Server process, potentially indicating the abuse of the ServerLevelPluginDll functionality. This can lead to privilege escalation and remote code execution with SYSTEM privileges.

Rule type: eql

Rule indices:

  • logs-endpoint.events.library-*
  • logs-windows.sysmon_operational-*

Severity: medium

Risk score: 47

Runs every: 5m

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

Maximum alerts per execution: 100

References:

Tags:

  • Domain: Endpoint
  • OS: Windows
  • Use Case: Threat Detection
  • Tactic: Privilege Escalation
  • Data Source: Elastic Defend
  • Data Source: Sysmon

Version: 1

Rule authors:

  • Elastic

Rule license: Elastic License v2

Rule query

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any where host.os.type == "windows" and event.category : ("library", "process") and
  event.type : ("start", "change") and event.action : ("load", "Image loaded*") and
  process.executable : "?:\\windows\\system32\\dns.exe" and
  not ?dll.code_signature.trusted == true and
  not file.code_signature.status == "Valid"

Framework: MITRE ATT&CKTM