Malicious HUI Loader DLL Side-Loading via McAfee mfeann.exe (via image_load)

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
image_load
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-10-27
Updated
2026-10-27

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects HUI Loader side-loading, where the legitimate signed McAfee binary mfeann.exe loads an attacker-supplied LockDown.dll. This pairing was used against the Asian gambling sector to run encrypted payloads under a trusted process. The DLL name loaded by this specific host executable is a strong side-loading indicator.

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Malicious HUI Loader DLL Side-Loading via McAfee mfeann.exe (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.