Sigma rule: DLL Search Order Hijackig Via Additional Space in Path

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-7a13b097b825, updated 2022-07-30T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
DLL Search Order Hijackig Via Additional Space in Path
Status
test
Level
high
Author
frack113, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-07-30
File
rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_dll_sideloading_space_path.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects when an attacker create a similar folder structure to windows system folders such as (Windows, Program Files...)
but with a space in order to trick DLL load search order and perform a "DLL Search Order Hijacking" attack

Log source

product
windows
category
file_event

Detection

selection:
    TargetFilename|startswith:
        - 'C:\Windows \'
        - 'C:\Program Files \'
        - 'C:\Program Files (x86) \'
    TargetFilename|endswith: '.dll'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

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/file/file_event/file_event_win_dll_sideloading_space_path.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "DLL Search Order Hijackig Via Additional Space in Path" by frack113, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/file/file_event/file_event_win_dll_sideloading_space_path.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: DLL Search Order Hijackig Via Additional Space in Path",
entity page, dataset version ref-7a13b097b825, updated 2022-07-30T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/b6f91281-20aa-446a-b986-38a92813a18f (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule b6f91281-20aa-446a-b986-38a92813a18f, 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.