Windows rundll32 Loading Renamed comsvcs.dll via DLL Image Load
Flags rundll32.exe loading a renamed comsvcs.dll module consistent with process memory dumping behavior on Windows.
- Product
- windows
- Category
- image_load
- Author
- Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2022-08-14
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
Cred AccessRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule flags executions where rundll32.exe loads a DLL image that ends with \comsvcs.dll when the loaded image is not an expected comsvcs.dll location/pattern. Loading comsvcs.dll through rundll32 is a common technique attackers use to access memory-related capabilities under a living-off-the-land binary. It relies on Windows image-load telemetry that records the launching Image and the ImageLoaded path, along with matching IMPHASH values for rundll32.exe.
Reporting behind it
Changelog
v2- v2Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v1No 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.
title: Windows rundll32 Loading Renamed comsvcs.dll via DLL Image Load
id: 66481754-e18c-4d5a-a2bd-33d4a845c74c
status: test
description: This rule flags executions where rundll32.exe loads a DLL image that ends with \comsvcs.dll when the loaded image is not an expected comsvcs.dll location/pattern. Loading comsvcs.dll through rundll32 is a common technique attackers use to access memory-related capabilities under a living-off-the-land binary. It relies on Windows image-load telemetry that records the launching Image and the ImageLoaded path, along with matching IMPHASH values for rundll32.exe.
references:
- https://twitter.com/sbousseaden/status/1555200155351228419
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/image_load/image_load_dll_comsvcs_load_renamed_version_by_rundll32.yml
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2022-08-14
modified: 2023-02-17
tags:
- attack.credential-access
- attack.t1003.001
logsource:
product: windows
category: image_load
detection:
selection:
Image|endswith: \rundll32.exe
Hashes|contains:
- IMPHASH=eed93054cb555f3de70eaa9787f32ebb
- IMPHASH=5e0dbdec1fce52daae251a110b4f309d
- IMPHASH=eadbccbb324829acb5f2bbe87e5549a8
- IMPHASH=407ca0f7b523319d758a40d7c0193699
- IMPHASH=281d618f4e6271e527e6386ea6f748de
filter:
ImageLoaded|endswith: \comsvcs.dll
condition: selection and not filter
falsepositives:
- Unlikely
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
- id: 8cde342c-ba48-4b74-b615-172c330f2e93
type: derived