Windows: WinRing0 Driver Load via Image Hash and File Name Match
Alerts on Windows driver loads matching WinRing0 modules by IMPhash or expected WinRing0 filenames.
- Product
- windows
- Category
- driver_load
- Author
- Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2022-07-26
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
Persistence → Priv EscRecon
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 the loading of WinRing0 driver binaries when the loaded image matches a specific imphash and the filename ends with common WinRing0 variants. Loading these drivers can enable attackers to gain low-level access for persistence or privilege escalation. It relies on Windows driver load telemetry that includes image hash (imphash) and the loaded image path or filename.
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: WinRing0 Driver Load via Image Hash and File Name Match"
id: fd7dc47a-c9a9-44b3-87a6-33d7eac2641e
status: test
description: This rule flags the loading of WinRing0 driver binaries when the loaded image matches a specific imphash and the filename ends with common WinRing0 variants. Loading these drivers can enable attackers to gain low-level access for persistence or privilege escalation. It relies on Windows driver load telemetry that includes image hash (imphash) and the loaded image path or filename.
references:
- https://github.com/xmrig/xmrig/tree/master/bin/WinRing0
- https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2021/12/13/driver-based-attacks-past-and-present/
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/driver_load/driver_load_win_vuln_winring0_driver.yml
author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2022-07-26
modified: 2024-11-23
tags:
- attack.persistence
- attack.privilege-escalation
- attack.t1543.003
logsource:
product: windows
category: driver_load
detection:
selection:
- Hashes|contains: IMPHASH=D41FA95D4642DC981F10DE36F4DC8CD7
- ImageLoaded|endswith:
- \WinRing0x64.sys
- \WinRing0.sys
- \WinRing0.dll
- \WinRing0x64.dll
- \winring00x64.sys
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- Unknown
level: high
license: DRL-1.1
related:
- id: 1a42dfa6-6cb2-4df9-9b48-295be477e835
type: derived