Suspicious CLR Load Into Mstsc RDP Client

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
image_load
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-11-02
Updated
2026-11-02

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → Collection
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Defense Evasion

  7. Discovery

  8. Lateral Movement

  9. C2

  10. Exfiltration

  11. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects the .NET CLR being loaded into the Windows Remote Desktop client mstsc.exe, which does not normally host managed code. In the WithSecure Windows Lab 3 an unsigned DLL is injected into mstsc.exe and pulls in clr.dll to hook credential APIs and capture RDP credentials to disk. This anomalous module load reveals in-process injection targeting a trusted native binary.

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Suspicious CLR Load Into Mstsc RDP Client
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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.