Direct Kernel Object Manipulation for Rootkit Detection

Ankit Mehta@Secvyn

•updated Jun 17, 2026•0•0•2

This rule detects suspicious command-line activity indicative of direct kernel object manipulation, often associated with kernel-mode rootkits. It looks for processes executing commands containing keywords related to direct kernel access (e.g., 'directl', 'kernel call', 'ntoskrnl', 'hal.dll') in conjunction with keywords suggesting privilege escalation or driver loading (e.g., 'setprivileges', 'loaddriver', 'createremotethread'). Such combinations can signify attempts to install or interact with malicious kernel drivers or rootkits.