Malicious WARMCOOKIE Loader Execution via rundll32 RtlUpd via process_creation

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-09-17
Updated
2026-09-17

ATT&CK techniques

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 rundll32.exe executing the WARMCOOKIE backdoor DLL RtlUpd.dll with its Start export. The backdoor is dropped to the ProgramData RtlUpd directory and invoked through rundll32 for execution and persistence. This specific module and export combination is a high-confidence WARMCOOKIE indicator.

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Pivot detection · T1218.011 · 9 related

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