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T1055 Process Injection

Adversaries may inject code into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. Process injection is a method of executing arbitrary code in the address space of a separate live process. Running code in the context of another process may allow access to the process's memory, system/network resources, and possibly elevated privileges. Execution via process injection may also evade detection from security products since the execution is masked under a legitimate process.

There are many different ways to inject code into a process, many of which abuse legitimate functionalities. These implementations exist for every major OS but are typically platform specific.

More sophisticated samples may perform multiple process injections to segment modules and further evade detection, utilizing named pipes or other inter-process communication (IPC) mechanisms as a communication channel.

View in MITRE ATT&CK®

CRI Profile Mappings

Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
PR.PS-05.02 Mobile code prevention Mitigates T1055 Process Injection
Comments
Mobile code procedures address specific actions taken to prevent the development, acquisition, and introduction of unacceptable mobile code within organizational systems, including requiring mobile code to be digitally signed by a trusted source.
References
    PR.AA-05.02 Privileged system access Mitigates T1055 Process Injection
    Comments
    This diagnostic statement protects against Process Injection through the use of privileged account management and the use of multi-factor authentication.
    References

      NIST 800-53 Mappings

      Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
      CM-06 Configuration Settings mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      CM-05 Access Restrictions for Change mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      SC-18 Mobile Code mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      SI-02 Flaw Remediation mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      SI-03 Malicious Code Protection mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      IA-02 Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users) mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      SI-04 System Monitoring mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      AC-02 Account Management mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      AC-03 Access Enforcement mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      AC-05 Separation of Duties mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      AC-06 Least Privilege mitigates T1055 Process Injection
      SC-07 Boundary Protection mitigates T1055 Process Injection

      VERIS Mappings

      Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
      action.malware.variety.In-memory (malware never stored to persistent storage) related-to T1055 Process Injection

      Azure Mappings

      Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
      microsoft_sentinel Microsoft Sentinel technique_scores T1055 Process Injection
      Comments
      The Microsoft Sentinel Analytics "Powershell Empire cmdlets seen in command line" query can detect the use of Empire, which contains multiple modules for injecting into processes, but does not address other procedures.
      References
      1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/sentinel/overview
      2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/sentinel/hunting
      alerts_for_windows_machines Alerts for Windows Machines technique_scores T1055 Process Injection
      Comments
      This control's Fileless Attack Detection covers all relevant sub-techniques. Detection is periodic at an unknown rate.
      References
      1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/plan-defender-for-servers
      2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/alerts-windows-machines
      defender_for_app_service Microsoft Defender for Cloud: Defender for App Service technique_scores T1055 Process Injection
      Comments
      This control's Fileless Attack Detection covers all relevant sub-techniques. The control also specifically detects process hollowing, executable image injection, and threads started in a dynamically allocated code segment. Detection is periodic at an unknown rate.
      References
      1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/alerts-reference
      2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/defender-for-app-service-introduction
      3. https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/app-service/
      4. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/defender-for-servers-overview

      GCP Mappings

      Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
      google_secops Google Security Operations technique_scores T1055 Process Injection
      Comments
      Google Security Ops can trigger an alert based on suspicious running processes that could be used to evade defenses and escalate privileges. (e.g., directory traversal attempts via attachment downloads). This technique was scored as minimal based on low or uncertain detection coverage factor. https://github.com/chronicle/detection-rules/blob/783e0e5947774785db1c55041b70176deeca6f46/soc_prime_rules/threat_hunting/process_creation/mavinject_process_injection.yaral
      References
      1. ['https://cloud.google.com/security/products/security-operations'
      2. 'https://cloud.google.com/chronicle/docs/secops/secops-overview'
      3. 'https://github.com/chronicle/detection-rules']

      ATT&CK Subtechniques

      Technique ID Technique Name Number of Mappings
      T1055.011 Extra Window Memory Injection 9
      T1055.003 Thread Execution Hijacking 9
      T1055.013 Process Doppelgänging 9
      T1055.004 Asynchronous Procedure Call 10
      T1055.002 Portable Executable Injection 10
      T1055.014 VDSO Hijacking 9
      T1055.012 Process Hollowing 9
      T1055.009 Proc Memory 11
      T1055.005 Thread Local Storage 9
      T1055.008 Ptrace System Calls 15
      T1055.015 ListPlanting 3
      T1055.001 Dynamic-link Library Injection 9