Adversaries may use rootkits to hide the presence of programs, files, network connections, services, drivers, and other system components. Rootkits are programs that hide the existence of malware by intercepting/hooking and modifying operating system API calls that supply system information. (Citation: Symantec Windows Rootkits)
Rootkits or rootkit enabling functionality may reside at the user or kernel level in the operating system or lower, to include a hypervisor, Master Boot Record, or System Firmware. (Citation: Wikipedia Rootkit) Rootkits have been seen for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X systems. (Citation: CrowdStrike Linux Rootkit) (Citation: BlackHat Mac OSX Rootkit)
View in MITRE ATT&CK®| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| action.hacking.variety.Evade Defenses | Modification of the action (rather than the system, as in 'Disable controls') to avoid detection. | related-to | T1014 | Rootkit | |
| action.malware.variety.Evade Defenses | Modification of the action (rather than the system, as in 'Disable controls') to avoid detection. | related-to | T1014 | Rootkit | |
| action.malware.variety.Rootkit | Rootkit (maintain local privileges and stealth) | related-to | T1014 | Rootkit | |
| action.social.variety.Evade Defenses | Modification of the action (rather than the system, as in 'Disable controls') to avoid detection. | related-to | T1014 | Rootkit |
| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| security_command_center | Security Command Center | technique_scores | T1014 | Rootkit |
Comments
SCC is able to detect when secure boot is not enabled. Adversaries may use this weakness to abuse pre-boot mechanisms and persist on compromised systems (e.g., rootkit). This technique was graded as significant due to the real-time temporal factor.
References
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| shielded_vm | Shielded VM | technique_scores | T1014 | Rootkit |
Comments
This control is able to mitigate the use of rootkits that target any portion of the boot process, such as malicious modification of the Master Boot Record or UEFI. This control does not mitigate rootkits that exist in the kernel or userland.
References
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