An adversary may rely upon specific actions by a user in order to gain execution. Users may be subjected to social engineering to get them to execute malicious code by, for example, opening a malicious document file or link. These user actions will typically be observed as follow-on behavior from forms of Phishing.
While User Execution frequently occurs shortly after Initial Access it may occur at other phases of an intrusion, such as when an adversary places a file in a shared directory or on a user's desktop hoping that a user will click on it. This activity may also be seen shortly after Internal Spearphishing.
Adversaries may also deceive users into performing actions such as enabling Remote Access Software, allowing direct control of the system to the adversary, or downloading and executing malware for User Execution. For example, tech support scams can be facilitated through Phishing, vishing, or various forms of user interaction. Adversaries can use a combination of these methods, such as spoofing and promoting toll-free numbers or call centers that are used to direct victims to malicious websites, to deliver and execute payloads containing malware or Remote Access Software.(Citation: Telephone Attack Delivery)
View in MITRE ATT&CK®Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
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AC-04 | Information Flow Enforcement | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
CA-07 | Continuous Monitoring | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
CM-02 | Baseline Configuration | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
CM-06 | Configuration Settings | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
CM-07 | Least Functionality | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
SC-44 | Detonation Chambers | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
SC-07 | Boundary Protection | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
SI-10 | Information Input Validation | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
SI-02 | Flaw Remediation | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
SI-03 | Malicious Code Protection | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
SI-04 | System Monitoring | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
SI-07 | Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
SI-08 | Spam Protection | Protects | T1204 | User Execution | |
EOP-Antimalware-E3 | Antimalware | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
In Microsoft 365 organizations with mailboxes in Exchange Online or standalone Exchange Online Protection (EOP) organizations without Exchange Online mailboxes, email messages are automatically protected against malware by EOP. Some of the major categories of malware are:
Viruses that infect other programs and data, and spread through your computer or network looking for programs to infect.
Spyware that gathers your personal information, such as sign-in information and personal data, and sends it back to its author.
Ransomware that encrypts your data and demands payment to decrypt it. Anti-malware software doesn't help you decrypt encrypted files, but it can detect the malware payload that's associated with the ransomware.
EOP offers multi-layered malware protection that's designed to catch all known malware in Windows, Linux, and Mac that travels into or out of your organization. The following options help provide anti-malware protection:
Layered defenses against malware: Multiple anti-malware scan engines help protect against both known and unknown threats. These engines include powerful heuristic detection to provide protection even during the early stages of a malware outbreak. This multi-engine approach has been shown to provide significantly more protection than using just one anti-malware engine.
Real-time threat response: During some outbreaks, the anti-malware team might have enough information about a virus or other form of malware to write sophisticated policy rules that detect the threat, even before a definition is available from any of the scan engines used by the service. These rules are published to the global network every 2 hours to provide your organization with an extra layer of protection against attacks.
Fast anti-malware definition deployment: The anti-malware team maintains close relationships with partners who develop anti-malware engines. As a result, the service can receive and integrate malware definitions and patches before they're publicly released. Our connection with these partners often allows us to develop our own remedies as well. The service checks for updated definitions for all anti-malware engines every hour.
License Requirements: M365 E3 or Microsoft Defender for Office plan 1.
References
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M365-DEF-ZAP-E3 | Zero Hour Auto Purge | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
Zero-hour auto purge (ZAP) is a protection feature in Exchange Online Protection (EOP) that retroactively detects and neutralizes malicious phishing, spam, or malware messages that have already been delivered to Exchange Online mailboxes. With the E5 licensing or Office Plan 2, ZAP is also able to retroactively detect existing malicious chat messages in Microsoft Teams that are identified as malware or high confidence phishing.
License Requirements: ZAP for Defender O365 is included with M365's E3 and requires E5 when leveraging ZAP for Teams security.
References
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DEF-SecScore-E3 | Secure Score | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
Microsoft Secure Score is a measurement of an organization's security posture, with a higher number indicating more recommended actions taken. It can be found at Microsoft Secure Score in the Microsoft Defender portal.
Following the Secure Score recommendations can protect your organization from threats. From a centralized dashboard in the Microsoft Defender portal, organizations can monitor and work on the security of their Microsoft 365 identities, apps, and devices. Your score is updated in real time to reflect the information presented in the visualizations and recommended action pages. Secure Score also syncs daily to receive system data about your achieved points for each action.
To help you find the information you need more quickly, Microsoft recommended actions are organized into groups:
Identity (Microsoft Entra accounts & roles)
Device (Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, known as Microsoft Secure Score for Devices)
Apps (email and cloud apps, including Office 365 and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps)
Data (through Microsoft Information Protection)
References
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DO365-SL-E3 | Safe Links | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
Microsoft Defender for O365 Safe Links scanning protects your organization from malicious links that are used in phishing and other attacks. Safe Links provides URL scanning and rewriting of inbound email messages during mail flow, and time-of-click verification of URLs and links in email messages, Teams, and supported Office 365 apps.
Safe Links Detects User Execution attacks due to Safe Links immediately checking the URL's before opening the websites. If the URL points to a website that has been determined to be malicious, a malicious website warning page opens.
License Requirements:
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 plan 1 and plan 2, Microsoft Defender XDR
References
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DEF-SA-E3 | Safe Attachments | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
M365's Safe Attachments is a feature that provides advanced email security by scanning attachments for malicious content and using a virtual environment to check for malicious actions in a process known as detonation. Safe Attachments for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams operates in real-time to detect against emerging threats. If a suspicious file is identified, this file can be quarantined or blocked access to prevent potential harm.
License requirements:
Mirosoft 365 E5, Defender for Office Plan 1, Microsoft 365 E3 with ATP add-on
References
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DEF-SA-E3 | Safe Attachments | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
M365's Safe Attachments is a feature that provides advanced email security by scanning attachments for malicious content and using a virtual environment to check for malicious actions in a process known as detonation. Safe Attachments for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams operates in real-time to detect against emerging threats. If a suspicious file is identified, this file can be quarantined or blocked access to prevent potential harm.
License requirements:
Mirosoft 365 E5, Defender for Office Plan 1, Microsoft 365 E3 with ATP add-on
References
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DEF-Quarantine-E3 | Quarantine Policies | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
In Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and Microsoft Defender for Office 365, quarantine policies allow admins to define the user experience for quarantined messages.
Traditionally, users have been allowed or denied levels of interactivity with quarantine messages based on why the message was quarantined. For example, users can view and release messages that were quarantined as spam or bulk, but they can't view or release messages that were quarantined as high confidence phishing or malware.
The following M365 features are supported by quarantine policies, “Response” to Anti-malware and Anti-Phishing tagged items. Files that are quarantined as malware by Safe Attachments for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams.
License requirements: M365 E3 (or Defender for Office plan 1)
References
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DO365-PSP-E3 | Preset Security Policies | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
M365 Preset security policies allow you to apply protection features to users based on Microsoft's recommended settings. Unlike custom policies that are infinitely configurable, virtually all of the settings in preset security policies aren't configurable, and are based on observations in Microsoft's datacenters. The settings in preset security policies provide a balance between keeping harmful content away from users while avoiding unnecessary disruptions.
Preset Security Policies Detects User Execution attacks due to all recipients in the organization receiving Safe Links and Safe Attachments with the Built-in protection profile by default. Safe Links immediately checking the URL's before opening the websites. You can add entries to the existing policies or configure different lists in different Safe Links policies to determine if certain websites are necessary for business operations. If the URL points to a website that has been identified as a phishing attack, a Phishing attempt warning page will open.
License Requirements:
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 plan 1 and plan 2, Microsoft Defender XDR
References
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DEF-SIM-E5 | ATT&CK Simulation Training | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
M365's Defender Attack Simulation Training allows organizations to automate the simulation of benign real-world cyberattacks. These simulation automations feature social engineering techniques, payloads, and can start on an automated schedule. This detection focused security control partially improves organizations security posture by continuously conduct attack simulations that fine tune analytics, and provide hands-on training for users and cyber professionals to improve response capabilities.
The following social engineering techniques are available:
Credential Harvest: Attempts to collect credentials by taking users to a well-known looking website with input boxes to submit a username and password.
Malware Attachment: Adds a malicious attachment to a message. When the user opens the attachment, arbitrary code is run that helps the attacker compromise the target's device.
Link in Attachment: A type of credential harvest hybrid. An attacker inserts a URL into an email attachment. The URL within the attachment follows the same technique as credential harvest.
Link to Malware: Runs some arbitrary code from a file hosted on a well-known file sharing service. The message sent to the user contains a link to this malicious file, opening the file and helping the attacker compromise the target's device.
Drive-by URL: The malicious URL in the message takes the user to a familiar-looking website that silently runs and/or installs code on the user's device.
OAuth Consent Grant: The malicious URL asks users to grant permissions to data for a malicious Azure Application.
License Requirements:
Microsoft 365 E5 or Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2.
References
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DEF-SIM-E5 | ATT&CK Simulation Training | Technique Scores | T1204 | User Execution |
Comments
M365's Defender Attack Simulation Training allows organizations to automate the simulation of benign real-world cyberattacks. These simulation automations feature social engineering techniques, payloads, and can start on an automated schedule. This detection focused security control partially improves organizations security posture by continuously conduct attack simulations that fine tune analytics, and provide hands-on training for users and cyber professionals to improve response capabilities.
The following social engineering techniques are available:
Credential Harvest: Attempts to collect credentials by taking users to a well-known looking website with input boxes to submit a username and password.
Malware Attachment: Adds a malicious attachment to a message. When the user opens the attachment, arbitrary code is run that helps the attacker compromise the target's device.
Link in Attachment: A type of credential harvest hybrid. An attacker inserts a URL into an email attachment. The URL within the attachment follows the same technique as credential harvest.
Link to Malware: Runs some arbitrary code from a file hosted on a well-known file sharing service. The message sent to the user contains a link to this malicious file, opening the file and helping the attacker compromise the target's device.
Drive-by URL: The malicious URL in the message takes the user to a familiar-looking website that silently runs and/or installs code on the user's device.
OAuth Consent Grant: The malicious URL asks users to grant permissions to data for a malicious Azure Application.
License Requirements:
Microsoft 365 E5 or Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2.
References
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Technique ID | Technique Name | Number of Mappings |
---|---|---|
T1204.002 | Malicious File | 21 |
T1204.003 | Malicious Image | 18 |
T1204.001 | Malicious Link | 19 |