Malicious Bumblebee DLL Sideload of msimg32 by consent from Non-System Path (via image_load)

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1574.001DLL
Persistence
- T1574.001DLL
Priv Esc
- T1574.001DLL
Defense Evasion
- T1574.001DLL
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects the trusted Windows consent binary loading an msimg32 DLL from outside the System32 directory, the DLL-sideloading technique that launched Bumblebee from a trojanized ManageEngine installer in the Akira intrusion. Adversaries place a malicious msimg32 next to a signed binary so their loader runs under a trusted process, so a consent process loading msimg32 from a user or program path is a strong sideloading indicator.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious Bumblebee DLL Sideload of msimg32 by consent from Non-System Path (via image_load)

Pivot detection · T1574.001 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

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