Sigma rule: Potential Mpclient.DLL Sideloading

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-65d9fbf2284b, updated 2023-08-04T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potential Mpclient.DLL Sideloading
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Bhabesh Raj
Date
2022-08-02
Modified
2023-08-04
File
rules/windows/image_load/image_load_side_load_windows_defender.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects potential sideloading of "mpclient.dll" by Windows Defender processes ("MpCmdRun" and "NisSrv") from their non-default directory.

Log source

product
windows
category
image_load

Detection

selection:
    ImageLoaded|endswith: '\mpclient.dll'
    Image|endswith:
        - '\MpCmdRun.exe'
        - '\NisSrv.exe'
filter_main_known_locations:
    Image|startswith:
        - 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Defender\'
        - 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\'
        - 'C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\'
        - 'C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Platform\'
        - 'C:\Windows\WinSxS\'
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unlikely

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.persistence
  • attack.execution
  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1574.001

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_side_load_windows_defender.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potential Mpclient.DLL Sideloading" by Bhabesh Raj (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/image_load/image_load_side_load_windows_defender.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: Potential Mpclient.DLL Sideloading",
entity page, dataset version ref-65d9fbf2284b, updated 2023-08-04T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/418dc89a-9808-4b87-b1d7-e5ae0cb6effc (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 418dc89a-9808-4b87-b1d7-e5ae0cb6effc, 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.