Sigma rule: DLL Loaded via CertOC.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-7f76a498df0a, updated 2024-03-05T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
DLL Loaded via CertOC.EXE
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Austin Songer @austinsonger
Date
2021-10-23
Modified
2024-03-05
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_certoc_load_dll.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects when a user installs certificates by using CertOC.exe to loads the target DLL file.

Log source

product
windows
category
process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith: '\certoc.exe'
    - OriginalFileName: 'CertOC.exe'
selection_cli:
    CommandLine|contains|windash: ' -LoadDLL '
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1218

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/process_creation/proc_creation_win_certoc_load_dll.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "DLL Loaded via CertOC.EXE" by Austin Songer @austinsonger (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_certoc_load_dll.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: DLL Loaded via CertOC.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-7f76a498df0a, updated 2024-03-05T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/242301bc-f92f-4476-8718-78004a6efd9f (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 242301bc-f92f-4476-8718-78004a6efd9f, 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.