Malicious ShadowPad DLL Sideloading via imecmnt.exe (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 Microsoft IME binary imecmnt.exe loading imjp14k.dll from a non-system directory, a DLL search-order sideloading chain used by Stately Taurus to launch the ShadowPad backdoor. The loaded DLL subsequently injects into wmplayer.exe or dllhost.exe to run in memory. Sideloading a malicious DLL through a signed IME component lets the actor evade allowlisting and defeat image-integrity checks.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious ShadowPad DLL Sideloading via imecmnt.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.

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