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Windows Rundll32 DLL Load via control.exe spawning

Alerts on control.exe spawning rundll32.exe to load Shell32.dll via DLL invocation patterns.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2017-04-15
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion

  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 process creation events where a Rundll32 executable is spawned from \\System32\\control.exe. It looks for Rundll32 execution (either by executable name or OriginalFileName) while the command line contains Shell32.dll, a common pattern for indirect DLL loading. The behavior can indicate stealthy execution through legitimate Windows components, and it relies on process creation telemetry including parent image, child image, and command line.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1218.011 — drag to rearrange
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Malicious Zardoor Backdoor Execution via rundll32 (via process_creation)
Malicious Rundll32 Loading an Export From a User Path (via process_creation)
Renamed Regsvr32 or Rundll32 Loading a DLL With a Non-Standard Extension (via process_creation)
Malicious Rundll32 DllRegisterServer Execution From a User-Writable Path (via process_creation)
IMEEX Framework DLL Execution via Rundll32 Loading imaadp (via process_creation)
Suspicious Persistence via pcalua Launching rundll32 Control_RunDLL
Suspicious Rundll32 Executing DLL Start Export With Control Flags
Windows Rundll32 DLL Load via control.exe spawning
Pivot detection · T1218.011 · 9 related

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