Sigma rule: WMIC Loading Scripting Libraries

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-068438468cf2, updated 2022-10-13T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
WMIC Loading Scripting Libraries
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Roberto Rodriguez (Cyb3rWard0g), OTR (Open Threat Research)
Date
2020-10-17
Modified
2022-10-13
File
rules/windows/image_load/image_load_wmic_remote_xsl_scripting_dlls.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects threat actors proxy executing code and bypassing application controls by leveraging wmic and the `/FORMAT` argument switch to download and execute an XSL file (i.e js, vbs, etc).
It could be an indicator of SquiblyTwo technique, which uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to execute malicious code.

Log source

product
windows
category
image_load

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith: '\wmic.exe'
    ImageLoaded|endswith:
        - '\jscript.dll'
        - '\vbscript.dll'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • The command wmic os get lastbootuptime loads vbscript.dll
  • The command wmic os get locale loads vbscript.dll
  • Since the ImageLoad event doesn't have enough information in this case. It's better to look at the recent process creation events that spawned the WMIC process and investigate the command line and parent/child processes to get more insights
  • The command `wmic ntevent` loads vbscript.dll

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1220

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/image_load/image_load_wmic_remote_xsl_scripting_dlls.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "WMIC Loading Scripting Libraries" by Roberto Rodriguez (Cyb3rWard0g), OTR (Open Threat Research) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/image_load/image_load_wmic_remote_xsl_scripting_dlls.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: WMIC Loading Scripting Libraries",
entity page, dataset version ref-068438468cf2, updated 2022-10-13T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/06ce37c2-61ab-4f05-9ff5-b1a96d18ae32 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 06ce37c2-61ab-4f05-9ff5-b1a96d18ae32, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.