Sigma rule: DCOM InternetExplorer.Application Iertutil DLL Hijack - Sysmon

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-c7d415645285, updated 2022-12-18T00:00:00.000Z.

SigmaHQ marks this rule as deprecated.

Rule

Title
DCOM InternetExplorer.Application Iertutil DLL Hijack - Sysmon
Status
deprecated
Level
critical
Author
Roberto Rodriguez @Cyb3rWard0g, Open Threat Research (OTR), wagga
Date
2020/10/12
Modified
2022/12/18
File
deprecated/windows/sysmon_dcom_iertutil_dll_hijack.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects a threat actor creating a file named `iertutil.dll` in the `C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\` directory over the network and loading it for a DCOM InternetExplorer DLL Hijack scenario.

Log source

product
windows
service
sysmon

Detection

selection_one:
    EventID: 11
    Image: System
    TargetFilename|endswith: '\Internet Explorer\iertutil.dll'
selection_two:
    EventID: 7
    Image|endswith: '\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe'
    ImageLoaded|endswith: '\Internet Explorer\iertutil.dll'
condition: 1 of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.lateral_movement
  • attack.t1021.002
  • attack.t1021.003

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/deprecated/windows/sysmon_dcom_iertutil_dll_hijack.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "DCOM InternetExplorer.Application Iertutil DLL Hijack - Sysmon" by Roberto Rodriguez @Cyb3rWard0g, Open Threat Research (OTR), wagga (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/deprecated/windows/sysmon_dcom_iertutil_dll_hijack.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: DCOM InternetExplorer.Application Iertutil DLL Hijack - Sysmon",
entity page, dataset version ref-c7d415645285, updated 2022-12-18T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/e554f142-5cf3-4e55-ace9-a1b59e0def65 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule e554f142-5cf3-4e55-ace9-a1b59e0def65, 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.