Name:Windows Executable in Loaded Modules id:3e27af56-fcf0-4113-988d-24969b062be7 version:9 date:2026-02-25 author:Teoderick Contreras, Splunk status:production type:TTP Description:The following analytic identifies instances where executable files (.exe) are loaded as modules, detected through 'ImageLoaded' events in Sysmon logs. This method leverages Sysmon EventCode 7 to track unusual module loading behavior, which is significant as it deviates from the norm of loading .dll files. This activity is crucial for SOC monitoring because it can indicate the presence of malware like NjRAT, which uses this technique to load malicious modules. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, maintain persistence, and further compromise the host system. Data_source:
-Sysmon EventID 7
search:`sysmon` EventCode=7 ImageLoaded != *.dll AND Signed != true
| 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 Signed signature_id user_id vendor_product
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `windows_executable_in_loaded_modules_filter`
how_to_implement:To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the process name and imageloaded executions from your endpoints. 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://malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de/details/win.njrat 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:'$info_max_time$' tags: analytic_story: - 'NjRAT' - 'Lokibot' asset_type:Endpoint mitre_attack_id: - 'T1129' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:endpoint
