Windows DLL Sideloading Suspicion via edputil.dll Image Load

Alerts on edputil.dll image loads occurring outside standard Windows system directories, suggesting possible DLL side-loading.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2

Product: windows
Category: image_load
Author: X__Junior (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2023-06-09
Updated: 2026-07-31

Analysis Detection

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 flags Windows process image-load events where a DLL named "edputil.dll" is loaded from a non-standard path. DLL sideloading matters because it can allow an attacker to execute or load malicious code by placing or redirecting trusted library names. The detection relies on image-load telemetry identifying the loaded module path and uses allowlisting of common system directories to reduce benign matches.

Reporting behind it

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Windows DLL Sideloading Suspicion via edputil.dll Image Load

Pivot detection · T1574.001 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v1
No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

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

windows-dll-side-loading-edputil-dll-loaded-from-non-system-paths-e4903324

title: Windows DLL Sideloading Suspicion via edputil.dll Image Load
id: 9b38ec46-f76a-49d9-a148-be6745e853f4
status: test
description: This rule flags Windows process image-load events where a DLL named "edputil.dll" is loaded from a non-standard path. DLL sideloading matters because it can allow an attacker to execute or load malicious code by placing or redirecting trusted library names. The detection relies on image-load telemetry identifying the loaded module path and uses allowlisting of common system directories to reduce benign matches.
references:
  - https://alternativeto.net/news/2023/5/cybercriminals-use-wordpad-vulnerability-to-spread-qbot-malware/
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/image_load/image_load_side_load_edputil.yml
author: X__Junior (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2023-06-09
tags:
  - attack.persistence
  - attack.privilege-escalation
  - attack.execution
  - attack.stealth
  - attack.t1574.001
logsource:
  category: image_load
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    ImageLoaded|endswith: \edputil.dll
  filter_main_generic:
    ImageLoaded|startswith:
      - C:\Windows\System32\
      - C:\Windows\SysWOW64\
      - C\Windows\WinSxS\
  condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_*
falsepositives:
  - Unlikely
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: e4903324-1a10-4ed3-981b-f6fe3be3a2c2
    type: derived

Convert

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