CreateDump Process Dump

About the rule

Rule Type

Standard

Rule Description

This rule detects the use of the CreateDump function or related utilities to generate memory dumps of running processes. While this technique is used legitimately by developers and system administrators for debugging purposes, it is also commonly abused by attackers to dump the memory of sensitive processes such as lsass.exe to extract credentials or access other confidential data. Detecting unauthorized or suspicious usage of memory dump utilities is critical in identifying credential theft attempts or post-exploitation activity.

Severity

Trouble

Rule journey

Attack chain scenario

Initial Access → Privilege Escalation → Discovery → Credential Access → Memory Dumping via CreateDump or similar API → Lateral Movement

Impact

• Privilege escalation
• Credential theft
• Lateral movement
• Data exfiltration and persistence

Rule Requirement

Prerequisites

Using Windows event viewer:
To enable detailed process tracking in a domain environment, log in to a domain controller using domain admin credentials and open the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). Create or edit a GPO linked to the target OU and navigate to the Advanced Audit Policy Configuration section to enable success auditing for both process creation and termination. To capture command-line details, enable the Include command line in process creation events setting under Audit Process Creation. Additionally, create the Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing/Operational registry key in the specified EventLog path to support enhanced auditing.

Using Sysmon:
To enable detailed process monitoring using Sysmon, first download and install it from Microsoft Sysinternals. Run Command Prompt as an administrator and install Sysmon with a configuration file that includes process creation tracking using sysmon.exe -i [configfile.xml]. Ensure your configuration includes a <ProcessCreate> filter to capture all process creation events. Additionally, create the Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational registry key under the EventLog path if it doesn’t already exist.

Criteria

Detection

Execution Mode

realtime

Log Sources

Windows

MITRE ATT&CK

Defense Evasion: Masquerading (T1036),
Credential Access: OS Credential Dumping - LSASS Memory (T1003.001)

Security Standards

Enabling this rule will help you meet the security standard's requirement listed below:

PR.AC-01: Identities and credentials are managed for authorized devices and users DE.CM-03: Unauthorized access is detected

By detecting attempts to dump memory via CreateDump, this rule enhances your ability to identify and respond to credential access techniques.

Author

Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)

Future actions

Known False Positives

Legitimate use of CreateDump.exe by system administrators, developers, or IT support teams during debugging, troubleshooting, or performance diagnostics can trigger this rule.

Next Steps

When this rule is triggered, the following measures can be implemented:

• Identification:Determine whether the use of cmstp.exe is associated with a known administrative action or is part of a suspicious process chain
• Analysis: Inspect the INF file passed to cmstp.exe. Malicious variants often contain embedded scriptlets or commands that result in payload execution.
• Response: Isolate the host, terminate related processes, and delete any associated malicious INF files.
• Restrict cmstp.exe: Restrict execution of cmstp.exe through application control policies if not used operationally.

Mitigation