Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the search order used to load other programs. Because some programs do not call other programs using the full path, adversaries may place their own file in the directory where the calling program is located, causing the operating system to launch their malicious software at the request of the calling program.
Search order hijacking occurs when an adversary abuses the order in which Windows searches for programs that are not given a path. Unlike DLL Search Order Hijacking, the search order differs depending on the method that is used to execute the program. (Citation: Microsoft CreateProcess) (Citation: Windows NT Command Shell) (Citation: Microsoft WinExec) However, it is common for Windows to search in the directory of the initiating program before searching through the Windows system directory. An adversary who finds a program vulnerable to search order hijacking (i.e., a program that does not specify the path to an executable) may take advantage of this vulnerability by creating a program named after the improperly specified program and placing it within the initiating program's directory.
For example, "example.exe" runs "cmd.exe" with the command-line argument <code>net user</code>. An adversary may place a program called "net.exe" within the same directory as example.exe, "net.exe" will be run instead of the Windows system utility net. In addition, if an adversary places a program called "net.com" in the same directory as "net.exe", then <code>cmd.exe /C net user</code> will execute "net.com" instead of "net.exe" due to the order of executable extensions defined under PATHEXT. (Citation: Microsoft Environment Property)
Search order hijacking is also a common practice for hijacking DLL loads and is covered in DLL Search Order Hijacking.
View in MITRE ATT&CK®| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR.PS-01.08 | End-user device protection | Mitigates | T1574.008 | Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking |
Comments
This diagnostic statement protects endpoints from certain types of behaviors related to process injection/memory tampering through configuration requirements, connection requirements, and other mechanisms to protect network, application, and data integrity.
References
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| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| microsoft_sentinel | Microsoft Sentinel | technique_scores | T1574.008 | Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking |
Comments
The Microsoft Sentinel Analytics "Powershell Empire cmdlets seen in command line" query can detect the use of Empire, which can discover and exploit DLL hijacking opportunities, path interception opportunities in the PATH environment variable, search order hijacking vulnerabilities, and unquoted path vulnerabilities, but does not address other procedures.
References
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| file_integrity_monitoring | Microsoft Defender for Cloud: File Integrity Monitoring | technique_scores | T1574.008 | Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking |
Comments
This control can detect file changes on VMs indicative of Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking.
References
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| defender_for_app_service | Microsoft Defender for Cloud: Defender for App Service | technique_scores | T1574.008 | Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking |
Comments
This control analyzes host data to detect execution of known malicious PowerShell PowerSploit cmdlets. This covers execution of these sub-techniques via the Privesc-PowerUp modules, but does not address other procedures, and temporal factor is unknown, resulting in a Minimal score.
References
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