Windows SqlWriter SQLDumper DLL Sideload

SPLUNK detection rule by Michael Haag, Teoderick Contreras, Splunk · Apache-2.0

The following analytic detects the abuse of SqlWriter and SQLDumper executables to sideload the vcruntime140.dll library. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 7 logs, focusing on instances where SQLDumper.exe or SQLWriter.exe load vcruntime140.dll, excluding legitimate loads from the System32 directory. This activity is significant as it indicates potential DLL sideloading, a technique used by adversaries to execute malicious code within trusted processes. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, maintain persistence, and evade detection by blending with legitimate processes.

name: Windows SqlWriter SQLDumper DLL Sideload
id: 2ed89ba9-c6c7-46aa-9f08-a2a1c2955aa3
version: 10
creation_date: '2024-04-04'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Michael Haag, Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects the abuse of SqlWriter and SQLDumper executables to sideload the vcruntime140.dll library. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 7 logs, focusing on instances where SQLDumper.exe or SQLWriter.exe load vcruntime140.dll, excluding legitimate loads from the System32 directory. This activity is significant as it indicates potential DLL sideloading, a technique used by adversaries to execute malicious code within trusted processes. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, maintain persistence, and evade detection by blending with legitimate processes.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 7
search: '`sysmon` EventCode=7 (Image="*\\SQLDumper.exe" OR Image="*\\SQLWriter.exe") ImageLoaded="*\\vcruntime140.dll" NOT ImageLoaded="C:\\Windows\\System32\\*" | fillnull | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by Image ImageLoaded dest loaded_file loaded_file_path original_file_name process_exec process_guid process_hash process_id process_name process_path service_dll_signature_exists service_dll_signature_verified signature signature_id user_id vendor_product | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`| `windows_sqlwriter_sqldumper_dll_sideload_filter`'
how_to_implement: The analytic is designed to be run against Sysmon event logs collected from endpoints. The analytic requires the Sysmon event logs to be ingested into Splunk. The analytic searches for EventCode 7 where the Image is either SQLDumper.exe or SQLWriter.exe and the ImageLoaded is vcruntime140.dll. The search also filters out the legitimate loading of vcruntime140.dll from the System32 directory to reduce false positives. The analytic can be modified to include additional known good paths for vcruntime140.dll to further reduce false positives.
known_false_positives: False positives are possible if legitimate processes are loading vcruntime140.dll from non-standard directories. It is recommended to investigate the context of the process loading vcruntime140.dll to determine if it is malicious or not. Modify the search to include additional known good paths for vcruntime140.dll to reduce false positives.
references:
    - https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/apt29-wineloader-german-political-parties
    - https://www.zscaler.com/blogs/security-research/european-diplomats-targeted-spikedwine-wineloader
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$dest$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  dest = "$dest$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: 7d
      latest_offset: "0"
finding:
    title: An instance of $Image$ loading $ImageLoaded$ was detected on $dest$.
    entity:
        field: dest
        type: system
        score: 50
threat_objects:
    - field: Image
      type: file_name
analytic_story:
    - APT29 Diplomatic Deceptions with WINELOADER
threat_group:
    - APT29
    - Cozy Bear
    - Midnight Blizzard
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1574.001
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1574.002/wineloader/sqlwriter_sqldumper_sideload_windows-sysmon.log
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
      test_type: unit

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