Suspicious DLL Sideloading by hpreader Executable from Documents

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 hpreader host executable loading a DLL from the user Documents directory, the DLL sideloading technique used by Ghost Crypt to launch PureRAT. A signed reader binary loading a masqueraded dependency from Documents rather than its install path is highly abnormal and indicates search-order hijacking.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious DLL Sideloading by hpreader Executable from Documents

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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