Sigma rule: Persistence Via Hhctrl.ocx

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-0aa051ddf496, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Persistence Via Hhctrl.ocx
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-07-21
Modified
2023-08-17
File
rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_hhctrl_persistence.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects when an attacker modifies the registry value of the "hhctrl" to point to a custom binary

Log source

product
windows
category
registry_set

Detection

selection:
    TargetObject|contains: '\CLSID\{52A2AAAE-085D-4187-97EA-8C30DB990436}\InprocServer32\(Default)'
filter:
    Details: 'C:\Windows\System32\hhctrl.ocx'
condition: selection and not filter

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unlikely

Tags

  • attack.persistence

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/registry/registry_set/registry_set_hhctrl_persistence.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Persistence Via Hhctrl.ocx" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/registry/registry_set/registry_set_hhctrl_persistence.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: Persistence Via Hhctrl.ocx",
entity page, dataset version ref-0aa051ddf496, updated 2023-08-17T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/f10ed525-97fe-4fed-be7c-2feecca941b1 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule f10ed525-97fe-4fed-be7c-2feecca941b1, 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.