Malicious rundll32 vbscript mshtml RunHTMLApplication Execution

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-10-04
Updated
2026-10-04

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → Defense Evasion
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Persistence

  5. Priv Esc

  6. Defense Evasion

  7. Cred Access

  8. Discovery

  9. Lateral Movement

  10. Collection

  11. C2

  12. Exfiltration

  13. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects rundll32.exe invoking the vbscript protocol handler with mshtml RunHTMLApplication to execute inline script, a living-off-the-land technique used by the Sibot malware to run RegRead logic and retrieve its second stage. This LOLBin invocation has no legitimate use and bypasses application controls. Its presence indicates in-memory script execution and defense evasion.

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