Adversaries may use brute force techniques to gain access to accounts when passwords are unknown or when password hashes are obtained.(Citation: TrendMicro Pawn Storm Dec 2020) Without knowledge of the password for an account or set of accounts, an adversary may systematically guess the password using a repetitive or iterative mechanism.(Citation: Dragos Crashoverride 2018) Brute forcing passwords can take place via interaction with a service that will check the validity of those credentials or offline against previously acquired credential data, such as password hashes.
Brute forcing credentials may take place at various points during a breach. For example, adversaries may attempt to brute force access to Valid Accounts within a victim environment leveraging knowledge gathered from other post-compromise behaviors such as OS Credential Dumping, Account Discovery, or Password Policy Discovery. Adversaries may also combine brute forcing activity with behaviors such as External Remote Services as part of Initial Access.
View in MITRE ATT&CK®| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAM-15 | Passwords Management | mitigates | T1110 | Brute Force |
Comments
This control requires both CSP and CSC to independently enforce strong password management practices to protect authentication credentials and reduce the risk of unauthorized access. For example, credential access protection mitigation focuses on implementing measures to prevent adversaries from obtaining credentials, such as passwords, hashes, tokens, or keys, that could be used for unauthorized access.
References
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| IAM-02 | Strong Password Policy and Procedures | mitigates | T1110 | Brute Force |
Comments
This control requires the CSP to enforce strong password management practices, implement protections against brute-force attacks, and support secure password reset processes.
For this technique, adversaries may use brute force techniques to gain access to accounts when passwords are unknown or when password hashes are obtained. In terms of mitigation, Set account lockout policies after a certain number of failed login attempts to prevent passwords from being guessed. Also, where possible, enforce multi-factor authentication on externally facing services to limit brute force succession.
References
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| AIS-05 | Automated Application Security Testing | mitigates | T1110 | Brute Force |
Comments
The control outlines several testing approaches, including the use of automated tools, to identify vulnerabilities throughout the software development lifecycle from development to production. It emphasizes testing for risks such as injection attacks and session hijacking, and recommends alignment with industry standards like the OWASP Top 10 to enhance application security. Adversaries may use brute force techniques to gain access to accounts when passwords are unknown or when password hashes are obtained. Deprecated hash functions (MD5, SHA1) and weak key derivation make password cracking significantly faster, enabling successful brute force attacks .
References
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| Technique ID | Technique Name | Number of Mappings |
|---|---|---|
| T1110.001 | Password Guessing | 2 |
| T1110.002 | Password Cracking | 2 |
| T1110.003 | Password Spraying | 2 |
| T1110.004 | Credential Stuffing | 1 |