huntrule

Windows UAC Bypass via DismHost.exe DLL Hijacking

Flags DismHost.exe executions from AppData\Local\Temp running as High/System integrity, consistent with UAC bypass via DLL hijacking.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Christian Burkard (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2021-08-30
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → 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 identifies process creation events where DismHost.exe is launched from a user’s AppData\Local\Temp path under high or system integrity contexts. Such behavior can indicate DLL hijacking used to bypass UAC and execute attacker-controlled code with elevated privileges. The detection relies on process creation telemetry capturing ParentImage, command path context, and integrity level values.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious UAC Bypass via ms-settings Handler Hijack (via registry_set)
Malicious DBatLoader DLL Sideloading via easinvoker.exe Loading netutils.dll (via image_load)
Suspicious dllhost.exe Spawned with CLSID and Anomalous Parent (via process_creation)
Malicious ms-settings DelegateExecute UAC Bypass Registry Change
Malicious User Account Control Bypass via Auto-Elevating Binary Hijack (via process_creation)
Suspicious Mock Trusted Directory with Trailing Space (via process_creation)
Windows UAC Bypass via DismHost.exe DLL Hijacking
Pivot detection · T1548.002 · 9 related

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