Suspicious tapiperf.dll Load by WMI Provider Host 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 wmiprvse.exe loading tapiperf.dll, which the Lunar toolset abuses through DLL replacement to gain execution inside a trusted Windows process. Legitimately tapiperf.dll is a TAPI performance counter library and is not loaded by the WMI provider host. This anomalous load points to DLL hijacking used for stealthy persistence and code execution.

Reporting behind it

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Suspicious tapiperf.dll Load by WMI Provider Host 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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