Sigma rule: Suspicious Unsigned Dbghelp/Dbgcore DLL Loaded

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-27bf589f5674, updated 2022-12-09T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Suspicious Unsigned Dbghelp/Dbgcore DLL Loaded
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Perez Diego (@darkquassar), oscd.community, Ecco
Date
2019-10-27
Modified
2022-12-09
File
rules/windows/image_load/image_load_dll_dbghelp_dbgcore_unsigned_load.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the load of dbghelp/dbgcore DLL (used to make memory dumps) by suspicious processes.
Tools like ProcessHacker and some attacker tradecract use MiniDumpWriteDump API found in dbghelp.dll or dbgcore.dll.
As an example, SilentTrynity C2 Framework has a module that leverages this API to dump the contents of Lsass.exe and transfer it over the network back to the attacker's machine.

Log source

product
windows
category
image_load

Detection

selection:
    ImageLoaded|endswith:
        - '\dbghelp.dll'
        - '\dbgcore.dll'
    Signed: 'false'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.credential-access
  • attack.t1003.001

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/image_load/image_load_dll_dbghelp_dbgcore_unsigned_load.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Suspicious Unsigned Dbghelp/Dbgcore DLL Loaded" by Perez Diego (@darkquassar), oscd.community, Ecco (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/image_load/image_load_dll_dbghelp_dbgcore_unsigned_load.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 Unsigned Dbghelp/Dbgcore DLL Loaded",
entity page, dataset version ref-27bf589f5674, updated 2022-12-09T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/bdc64095-d59a-42a2-8588-71fd9c9d9abc (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule bdc64095-d59a-42a2-8588-71fd9c9d9abc, 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.