Sigma rule: Potential DLL Sideloading Of DBGHELP.DLL

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-e0f96bb7fd4b, updated 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Potential DLL Sideloading Of DBGHELP.DLL
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Wietze Beukema (project and research)
Date
2022-10-25
Modified
2025-10-07
File
rules/windows/image_load/image_load_side_load_dbghelp.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects potential DLL sideloading of "dbghelp.dll"

Log source

product
windows
category
image_load

Detection

selection:
    ImageLoaded|endswith: '\dbghelp.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_anaconda:
    ImageLoaded|endswith:
        - '\Anaconda3\Lib\site-packages\vtrace\platforms\windll\amd64\dbghelp.dll'
        - '\Anaconda3\Lib\site-packages\vtrace\platforms\windll\i386\dbghelp.dll'
filter_optional_epicgames:
    ImageLoaded|endswith:
        - '\Epic Games\Launcher\Engine\Binaries\ThirdParty\DbgHelp\dbghelp.dll'
        - '\Epic Games\MagicLegends\x86\dbghelp.dll'
filter_optional_opera:
    ImageLoaded|contains: 'opera\Opera Installer Temp\opera_package'
    ImageLoaded|endswith: '\assistant\dbghelp.dll'
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate applications loading their own versions of the DLL mentioned in this rule

Tags

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

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

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_dbghelp.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Potential DLL Sideloading Of DBGHELP.DLL" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Wietze Beukema (project and research) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/image_load/image_load_side_load_dbghelp.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 DLL Sideloading Of DBGHELP.DLL",
entity page, dataset version ref-e0f96bb7fd4b, updated 2025-10-07T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/6414b5cd-b19d-447e-bb5e-9f03940b5784 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 6414b5cd-b19d-447e-bb5e-9f03940b5784, 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.