Sigma rule: Microsoft Office DLL Sideload

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-1a19077b4f5f, updated 2023-03-15T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Microsoft Office DLL Sideload
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Wietze Beukema (project and research)
Date
2022-08-17
Modified
2023-03-15
File
rules/windows/image_load/image_load_side_load_office_dlls.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects DLL sideloading of DLLs that are part of Microsoft Office from non standard location

Log source

product
windows
category
image_load

Detection

selection:
    ImageLoaded|endswith: '\outllib.dll'
filter:
    ImageLoaded|startswith:
        - 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE'
        - 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\OFFICE'
        - 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Root\OFFICE'
        - 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Root\OFFICE'
condition: selection and not filter

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unlikely

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_office_dlls.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Microsoft Office DLL Sideload" 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_office_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: Microsoft Office DLL Sideload",
entity page, dataset version ref-1a19077b4f5f, updated 2023-03-15T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/829a3bdf-34da-4051-9cf4-8ed221a8ae4f (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 829a3bdf-34da-4051-9cf4-8ed221a8ae4f, 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.