Detection rules › Sigma
Potential DLL Sideloading Of DBGCORE.DLL
Detects DLL sideloading of "dbgcore.dll"
Known false positives
- Legitimate applications loading their own versions of the DLL mentioned in this rule
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Execution | |
| Stealth |
Telemetry coverage
| Provider | Record / event type |
|---|---|
| Sysmon | Event ID 7: Image loaded |
Rule body
title: Potential DLL Sideloading Of DBGCORE.DLL
id: 9ca2bf31-0570-44d8-a543-534c47c33ed7
status: test
description: Detects DLL sideloading of "dbgcore.dll"
references:
- https://hijacklibs.net/ # For list of DLLs that could be sideloaded (search for dlls mentioned here in there)
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Wietze Beukema (project and research)
date: 2022-10-25
modified: 2025-10-06
tags:
- attack.persistence
- attack.privilege-escalation
- attack.execution
- attack.stealth
- attack.t1574.001
logsource:
category: image_load
product: windows
detection:
selection:
ImageLoaded|endswith: '\dbgcore.dll'
filter_main_generic:
ImageLoaded|startswith:
- 'C:\Program Files (x86)\'
- 'C:\Program Files\'
- 'C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\'
- 'C:\Windows\System32\'
- 'C:\Windows\SystemTemp\'
- 'C:\Windows\SysWOW64\'
- 'C:\Windows\WinSxS\'
filter_optional_steam:
ImageLoaded|endswith: '\Steam\bin\cef\cef.win7x64\dbgcore.dll'
filter_optional_opera:
# C:\\Users\\User\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\.opera\\Opera Installer Temp\\opera_package_202311051506321\\assistant\\dbgcore.dll
ImageLoaded|contains: 'opera\Opera Installer Temp\opera_package'
ImageLoaded|endswith: '\assistant\dbgcore.dll'
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*
falsepositives:
- Legitimate applications loading their own versions of the DLL mentioned in this rule
level: medium
Stages and Predicates
Stage 0: condition
selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*Stage 1: selection
selection:
ImageLoaded|endswith: '\dbgcore.dll'
Stage 2: not filter_main_generic
filter_main_generic:
ImageLoaded|startswith:
- 'C:\Program Files (x86)\'
- 'C:\Program Files\'
- 'C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\'
- 'C:\Windows\System32\'
- 'C:\Windows\SystemTemp\'
- 'C:\Windows\SysWOW64\'
- 'C:\Windows\WinSxS\'
Stage 3: not filter_optional_*
filter_optional_steam:
ImageLoaded|endswith: '\Steam\bin\cef\cef.win7x64\dbgcore.dll'
filter_optional_opera:
ImageLoaded|contains: 'opera\Opera Installer Temp\opera_package'
ImageLoaded|endswith: '\assistant\dbgcore.dll'
Exclusions
The rule actively suppresses these predicates.
Indicators
These rows show field, operator, and value matches.
| Field | Kind | Values | Search |
|---|---|---|---|
ImageLoaded | ends_with |
| field:"ImageLoaded" kind:ends_with value:"\dbgcore.dll" |