Detectionmediumexperimental

Potentially Suspicious Image Load of Offreg.dll

Detects potentially suspicious loading of the Offline Registry Library (offreg.dll). Offreg.dll enables direct read/write access to offline registry hives without invoking the Windows Registry API, bypassing its associated audit logging and telemetry. Attackers may abuse this to stealthily modify registry hives while evading detection mechanisms that rely on standard registry event logs.

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Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)Created Thu Jul 23c9e5f013-4a6f-4d8c-9b0e-f7a4c3d26e95windows
Log Source
WindowsImage Load (DLL)
ProductWindows← raw: windows
CategoryImage Load (DLL)← raw: image_load
Detection Logic
Detection Logic5 selectors
detection:
    selection:
        ImageLoaded|endswith: '\offreg.dll'
    filter_main_system32:
        Image|startswith:
            - 'C:\Windows\System32\'
            - 'C:\Windows\SysWOW64\'
            - 'C:\Windows\WinSxS\'
    filter_main_program_files:
        Image|startswith:
            - 'C:\Program Files\'
            - 'C:\Program Files (x86)\'
    filter_main_appdata_local_programs:
        Image|startswith: 'C:\Users\'
        Image|contains: '\AppData\Local\Programs\'
    filter_main_defender:
        Image|startswith: 'C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Platform\'
        Image|endswith: '\MsMpEng.exe'
    condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_*
False Positives

Third-party backup or forensic software that performs offline registry parsing

Windows deployment tools (DISM, ADK) run from non-standard paths

Testing & Validation

Regression Tests

by Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)
Positive Detection Test1 matchevtx

Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon

Rule Metadata
Rule ID
c9e5f013-4a6f-4d8c-9b0e-f7a4c3d26e95
Status
experimental
Level
medium
Type
Detection
Created
Thu Jul 23
Path
rules/windows/image_load/image_load_susp_offreg_dll_load.yml
Raw Tags
attack.defense-impairmentattack.persistenceattack.t1112
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