S1097: HUI Loader
HUI Loader is a custom DLL loader that has been used since at least 2015 by China-based threat groups including Cinnamon Tempest and menuPass to deploy malware on compromised hosts. HUI Loader has been observed in campaigns loading SodaMaster, PlugX, Cobalt Strike, Komplex, and several strains of ransomware.[1]
Security context for executives and security teams
S1097: HUI Loader describes [HUI Loader](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1097) is a custom DLL loader that has been used since at least 2015 by China-based threat groups including [Cinnamon Tempest](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1021) and [menuPass](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0045) to deploy malware on compromised hosts. [HUI Loader](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1097) has been observed in campaigns loading [SodaMaster](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0627), [PlugX](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0013), [Cobalt Strike]...
Executive priority
S1097: HUI Loader is an official MITRE ATT&CK software. Glexia treats it as defensive behavior context for prioritizing monitoring, control validation, and response planning without using the object by itself as an attribution claim.
Technical view
Security teams should validate S1097: HUI Loader by reviewing the official ATT&CK relationships, mapped tactics (the mapped ATT&CK tactic context), supported platforms (Windows), and available local telemetry before making detection or mitigation decisions.
Likely telemetry
- Official ATT&CK relationships and object metadata
- Network, endpoint, and security-tool telemetry
Detection direction
- Validate whether S1097: HUI Loader appears in your detection coverage and tabletop scenarios.
- Use the object to align executive risk language with SOC, incident response, and detection engineering work.
- Do not treat ATT&CK relationship context as attribution without corroborating evidence.
Mitigation priorities
- Map the object to existing controls and identify missing telemetry or response ownership.
- Prioritize mitigations that reduce exposure on the listed platforms and tactics.
- Review adjacent ATT&CK relationships before changing policy, detections, or reporting language.
Additional notes and limits
Baseline Glexia take generated from the official MITRE ATT&CK STIX object, source hash, tactics, platforms, and detection fields. It is safe to replace with a richer model-generated take for the same source hash later.
This baseline take is source-grounded and schema-validated, but it does not include environment-specific telemetry, incident evidence, or threat-intelligence corroboration.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
HUI Loader
HUI Loader is a custom DLL loader that has been used since at least 2015 by China-based threat groups including Cinnamon Tempest and menuPass to deploy malware on compromised hosts. HUI Loader has been observed in campaigns loading SodaMaster, PlugX, Cobalt Strike, Komplex, and several strains of ransomware.[1]
How security teams should use this page
Treat this object as behavior context, not an attribution claim. Validate the related groups, software, data sources, and mitigations against official ATT&CK relationships and your own telemetry before making control-coverage decisions.
Techniques used
This mirrors the MITRE pattern of making group, software, campaign, and technique relationships scannable. Relationship notes come from mirrored ATT&CK relationship text when available.
| Domain | ID | Name | Relationship / procedure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | T1140 | Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information | HUI Loader can decrypt and load files containing malicious payloads.[1] |
| Enterprise | T1685 | Disable or Modify Tools | HUI Loader has the ability to disable Windows Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) and Antimalware Scan Interface (AMSI) functions.[1] |
| Enterprise | T1574.001 | DLLSub-technique | HUI Loader can be deployed to targeted systems via legitimate programs that are vulnerable to DLL search order hijacking.[1] |
Groups, software, and campaigns
G0045: menuPass
menuPass is a threat group that has been active since at least 2006. Individual members of menuPass are known to have acted in association with the Chinese Ministry of State Security's (MSS) Tianjin State Security Bureau and worked for the Huaying Haitai Science and Technology Development Company.[1][2]
menuPass has targeted healthcare, defense, aerospace, finance, maritime, biotechnology, energy, and government sectors globally, with an emphasis on Japanese organizations. In 2016 and 2017, the group is known to have targeted managed IT service providers (MSPs), manufacturing and mining companies, and a university.[3][4][5][6][7][1][2]
G1021: Cinnamon Tempest
Cinnamon Tempest is a China-based threat group that has been active since at least 2021 deploying multiple strains of ransomware based on the leaked Babuk source code. Cinnamon Tempest does not operate their ransomware on an affiliate model or purchase access but appears to act independently in all stages of the attack lifecycle. Based on victimology, the short lifespan of each ransomware variant, and use of malware attributed to government-sponsored threat groups, Cinnamon Tempest may be motivated by intellectual property theft or cyberespionage rather than financial gain.[1][2][3][4]
All related ATT&CK context
Object version and sync metadata
The fields below describe the current mirrored snapshot. When Glexia retains multiple ATT&CK source imports, you can open the table to compare the same object across releases (hashes and MITRE timestamps). For MITRE’s own release notes and roadmap, see ATT&CK resources — Updates.
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases(2)
| Release | Bundle imported | Object version | Modified | Status | Raw hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.2 | 1.0 | Current bundle | 669de576c7d6… | ||
| 19.1 | 1.0 | Older bundle | 669de576c7d6… |
Mirrored ATT&CK source object
The raw object is retained through the mirrored ATT&CK source bundle and object hash. The raw endpoint returns the exact object from the mirrored bundle when available.
External references and citations
MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.
- [1]SecureWorks BRONZE STARLIGHT Ransomware Operations June 2022
Counter Threat Unit Research Team . (2022, June 23). BRONZE STARLIGHT RANSOMWARE OPERATIONS USE HUI LOADER. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
Open source URL - [2]mitre-attackS1097Open source URL
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