Sigma rule: MMC Loading Script Engines DLLs

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-916be96ed518, updated 2025-02-05T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
MMC Loading Script Engines DLLs
Status
experimental
Level
medium
Author
Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)
Date
2025-02-05
File
rules/windows/image_load/image_load_win_mmc_loads_script_engine_dll.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects when the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) loads the DLL libraries like vbscript, jscript etc which might indicate an attempt
to execute malicious scripts within a trusted system process for bypassing application whitelisting or defense evasion.

Log source

product
windows
category
image_load

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith: '\mmc.exe'
    ImageLoaded|endswith:
        - '\vbscript.dll'
        - '\jscript.dll'
        - '\jscript9.dll'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate MMC operations or extensions loading these libraries

Tags

  • attack.execution
  • attack.stealth
  • attack.t1059.005
  • attack.t1218.014

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_win_mmc_loads_script_engine_dll.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "MMC Loading Script Engines DLLs" by Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/image_load/image_load_win_mmc_loads_script_engine_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: MMC Loading Script Engines DLLs",
entity page, dataset version ref-916be96ed518, updated 2025-02-05T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/a9c73e8b-3b2d-4c45-8ef2-5f9a9c9998ad (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule a9c73e8b-3b2d-4c45-8ef2-5f9a9c9998ad, 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.