Inter-Process Communication: Component Object Model T1559.001
Tactic: Execution
Adversaries may use the Windows Component Object Model (COM) for local code execution. COM is an inter-process communication (IPC) component of the native Windows application programming interface (API) that enables interaction between software objects, or executable code that implements one or more interfaces. Through COM, a client object can call methods of server objects, which are typically binary Dynamic Link Libraries (DLL) or executables (EXE). Remote COM execution is facilitated by Remote Services such as Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM).
Events covered
7 catalog events are tagged with this technique by at least one rule.
| Provider | Event | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Sysmon | Event ID 1 | Process creation |
| Sysmon | Event ID 3 | Network connection |
| Sysmon | Event ID 7 | Image loaded |
| Sysmon | Event ID 10 | ProcessAccess |
| Sysmon | Event ID 11 | FileCreate |
| Sysmon | Event ID 22 | DNSEvent (DNS query) |
| Security-Auditing | Event ID 4688 | A new process has been created. |
Authoring guide
Patterns shared across the 17 rules above: which fields they filter on, what specific values they look for, and what they exclude. The catalog normalizes field names across vendors so Sigma's Image, Elastic's process.name, and Splunk's process_name collapse into one row. Each rule contributes at most once per row.
Fields filtered most (25 distinct)
The fields most rules look at when detecting this technique. The How column shows the operators authors use (eq, wildcard, regex_match, match) and how often each appears. Sample values are concrete examples to start from, not an exhaustive list.
Top indicator values (91 distinct)
Specific (field, operator, value) combinations the rules check for, ranked by how many rules under this technique use each one. The Corpus reach column counts how many rules across the entire catalog (any technique) check the same combination. High numbers point to widely-used indicators that are likely noisy on their own; combine them with another condition for useful signal. Blank means the combination is specific to rules under this technique. Click a value to expand the rules under this technique that use it.
Exclusions (37 distinct)
Field/operator/value combinations excluded by rules under this technique (top-level not() clauses), sorted by how many rules exclude each. These are the false-positive paths the community has learned to filter out. A new rule that ignores the high-count entries here will likely fire on the same noisy paths. Click a value to expand the rules under this technique that exclude it.
Rules under this technique
Every rule in the catalog tagged with this technique, grouped by vendor. Click a rule title for its full predicates, exclusions, and indicators.
Sigma 4 rules
- CMSTP Execution Process Access
- Dllhost.EXE Initiated Network Connection To Non-Local IP Address
- DNS Query Request By Regsvr32.EXE
- Network Connection Initiated By Regsvr32.EXE
Elastic 12 rules
- Execution of COM object via Xwizard
- Incoming DCOM Lateral Movement via MSHTA
- Incoming DCOM Lateral Movement with MMC
- Incoming DCOM Lateral Movement with ShellBrowserWindow or ShellWindows
- Potential Command and Control via Internet Explorer
- Remote XSL Script Execution via COM
- Suspicious Explorer Child Process
- Suspicious Image Load (taskschd.dll) from MS Office
- Suspicious Inter-Process Communication via Outlook
- UAC Bypass Attempt via Elevated COM Internet Explorer Add-On Installer
- UAC Bypass Attempt with IEditionUpgradeManager Elevated COM Interface
- UAC Bypass via ICMLuaUtil Elevated COM Interface