huntrule

Windows Driver Load from Temporary Directory Paths

Detects Windows driver loads whose ImageLoaded path contains the temporary directory (\Temp\).

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Category
driver_load
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2017-02-12
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc

  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 flags Windows driver loads where the loaded image path contains the temporary directory segment '\Temp\'. Loading a driver from a temp location is suspicious because it may indicate an attempt to stage or execute privileged code from a transient location. The detection relies on telemetry that records the driver image path for driver load events.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1543.003 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Service DLL Hijack of IKEEXT or PrintNotify
Service Hiding via SC Sdset Security Descriptor Modification
Malicious Service DLL Hijack for Persistence via Lotus Blossom
Malicious TinyTurla ServiceDll Registration via svchost Group (via registry_set)
Suspicious ToyMaker LAGTOY Service Creation Masquerading as WmiPrvSV via sc.exe
Malicious Service Creation With Autostart binPath via sc.exe (via process_creation)
Malicious svchost Service Creation for TinyTurla Persistence (via process_creation)
Malicious Service Creation Masquerading as nslookup (via process_creation)
Interactive Service Creation Executing cmd via sc.exe
Windows Driver Load from Temporary Directory Paths
Pivot detection · T1543.003 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. 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.