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DLL Sideloading by VMware Xfer Utility — Sigma Rule

Sigma rule ebea773c-a8f1-42ad-a856-00cb221966e8. DLL Sideloading by VMware Xfer Utility — Sigma Rule. Detects execution of VMware Xfer utility (VMwareXferlogs.exe) from the non-default directory which may be an attempt to sideload arbitrary DLL

Rule metadata and linked tags

Author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems). Source status: test; severity: high. Source dates: 2022-08-02 / not supplied.

{
  "product": "windows",
  "category": "process_creation"
}

Pinned original Sigma rule · Detection Rule License 1.1

Source SHA-256: 5b7e74198a8af429952f99d2e5773dcce53d926c1ec25cae43685b81eebb3f02

Detection logic

Original source YAML. Source-tag agreement is not proof of complete semantic coverage. This rule has not been compiled for a SIEM backend or validated against live telemetry here.

title: DLL Sideloading by VMware Xfer Utility
id: ebea773c-a8f1-42ad-a856-00cb221966e8
status: test
description: Detects execution of VMware Xfer utility (VMwareXferlogs.exe) from the non-default directory which may be an attempt to sideload arbitrary DLL
references:
    - https://www.sentinelone.com/labs/lockbit-ransomware-side-loads-cobalt-strike-beacon-with-legitimate-vmware-utility/
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2022-08-02
tags:
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.execution
    - attack.stealth
    - attack.t1574.001
logsource:
    product: windows
    category: process_creation
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith: '\VMwareXferlogs.exe'
    filter: # VMware might be installed in another path so update the rule accordingly
        Image|startswith: 'C:\Program Files\VMware\'
    condition: selection and not filter
falsepositives:
    - Unlikely
level: high

Original YAML and metadata in JSON

False positives

  • Unlikely

Source references

Connected ecosystem references

Exact source-tagged techniques

Telemetry review

Read the original logsource above, then inspect the linked detection workspaces for technique-level sensor context. No per-rule telemetry equivalence is inferred.

Pinned research references. No browser attack runner, live simulation result or validated detector is asserted. Source mappings and validation limits are preserved. ATT&CK / Atomic provenance · Detection provenance.