Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
Adversaries may exploit a system or application vulnerability to avoid detection while maintaining access within an environment. Exploitation occurs when an adversary leverages a programming flaw to execute code in a manner that minimizes visibility or blends in with legitimate activity.
Rather than directly disabling defenses, adversaries may use exploitation to circumvent monitoring and logging mechanisms. This can include abusing vulnerabilities in logging pipelines, security tools, or cloud infrastructure to evade audit trails, suppress alerts, or operate without generating telemetry.
Adversaries may identify these opportunities through prior reconnaissance or by performing discovery of security controls after initial access. In some cases, vulnerabilities in SaaS or public cloud environments may be exploited to evade logging, obscure activity, or deploy infrastructure that remains hidden from standard monitoring tools.(Citation: Bypassing CloudTrail in AWS Service Catalog)(Citation: GhostToken GCP flaw)
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 | T1211 | Exploitation for Stealth | |
| action.malware.variety.Evade Defenses | Modification of the action (rather than the system, as in 'Disable controls') to avoid detection. | related-to | T1211 | Exploitation for Stealth | |
| action.social.variety.Evade Defenses | Modification of the action (rather than the system, as in 'Disable controls') to avoid detection. | related-to | T1211 | Exploitation for Stealth |
| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| artifact_analysis | Artifact Analysis | technique_scores | T1211 | Exploitation for Stealth |
Comments
Artifact Analysis performs vulnerability scans on artifacts in Artifact Registry or Container Registry (deprecated). When Artifact Analysis is deployed, it can detect variations to store system packages and images stored in the repository, which adversaries may target to establish persistence while evading cyber defenses.
References
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| vm_manager | VM Manager | technique_scores | T1211 | Exploitation for Stealth |
Comments
VM Manager can apply on-demand and scheduled patches via automated patch deployment. This can remediate OS and software vulnerabilities that could otherwise be exploited. Since VM Manager doesn't directly prevent exploitation of active vulnerabilities (including zero day vulnerabilities) this control has resulted in a score of Partial.
References
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