Sigma rule: Suspicious DLL Loaded via CertOC.EXE

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-444b7ed1944d, updated 2024-03-05T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Suspicious DLL Loaded via CertOC.EXE
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2023-02-15
Modified
2024-03-05
File
rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_certoc_load_dll_susp_locations.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects when a user installs certificates by using CertOC.exe to load 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 '
selection_paths:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - '\Appdata\Local\Temp\'
        - '\Desktop\'
        - '\Downloads\'
        - '\Users\Public\'
        - 'C:\Windows\Tasks\'
        - 'C:\Windows\Temp\'
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_susp_locations.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Suspicious DLL Loaded via CertOC.EXE" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_certoc_load_dll_susp_locations.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: Suspicious DLL Loaded via CertOC.EXE",
entity page, dataset version ref-444b7ed1944d, updated 2024-03-05T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/84232095-ecca-4015-b0d7-7726507ee793 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 84232095-ecca-4015-b0d7-7726507ee793, 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.