Rundll32 Create Remote Thread To A Process

name: Rundll32 Create Remote Thread To A Process
id: 2dbeee3a-f067-11eb-96c0-acde48001122
version: 8
date: '2026-03-10'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects the creation of a remote thread by rundll32.exe into another process. It leverages Sysmon EventCode 8 logs, specifically monitoring SourceImage and TargetImage fields. This activity is significant as it is a common technique used by malware, such as IcedID, to execute malicious code within legitimate processes, aiding in defense evasion and data theft. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, escalate privileges, and exfiltrate sensitive information from the compromised host.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 8
search: '`sysmon` EventCode=8 SourceImage = "*\\rundll32.exe" TargetImage = "*.exe" | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by EventID Guid NewThreadId ProcessID SecurityID SourceImage SourceProcessGuid SourceProcessId StartAddress StartFunction StartModule TargetImage TargetProcessGuid TargetProcessId UserID dest parent_process_exec parent_process_guid parent_process_id parent_process_name parent_process_path process_exec process_guid process_id process_name process_path signature signature_id user_id vendor_product | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `rundll32_create_remote_thread_to_a_process_filter`'
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the SourceImage, TargetImage, and EventCode executions from your endpoints related to create remote thread or injecting codes. If you are using Sysmon, you must have at least version 6.0.4 of the Sysmon TA.
known_false_positives: No false positives have been identified at this time.
references:
    - https://www.joesandbox.com/analysis/380662/0/html
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 ("$dest$") starthoursago=168  | 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: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
rba:
    message: rundl32 process $SourceImage$ create a remote thread to process $TargetImage$ in host $dest$
    risk_objects:
        - field: dest
          type: system
          score: 50
    threat_objects:
        - field: SourceImage
          type: process
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - IcedID
        - Living Off The Land
    asset_type: Endpoint
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1055
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
        - Splunk Enterprise Security
        - Splunk Cloud
    security_domain: endpoint
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/malware/icedid/inf_icedid/windows-sysmon.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog