Stripped Payloads
Where this stands
One published detection covers this technique. Every one is unverified — no rule on Siemphony has been executed against real telemetry.
What the technique is
Adversaries may attempt to make a payload difficult to analyze by removing symbols, strings, and other human readable information. Scripts and executables may contain variables names and other strings that help developers document code functionality. Symbols are often created by an operating system’s linker when executable payloads are compiled. Reverse engineers use these symbols and strings to analyze code and to identify functionality in payloads. Adversaries may use stripped payloads in order to make malware analysis more difficult. For example, compilers and other tools may provide features to remove or obfuscate strings and symbols. Adversaries have also used stripped payload formats, such as run-only AppleScripts, a compiled and stripped version of AppleScript, to evade detection and analysis. The lack of human-readable information may directly hinder detection and analysis of payloads.
Read it on attack.mitre.orgWhat MITRE says you would watch
- AN0055
Executable or script payloads lacking symbol information and readable strings that are created or dropped by unusual or short-lived processes.
- AN0056
Executable or binary files created without symbol tables or with stripped sections, especially by non-user shell processes or compilers invoked outside standard dev paths.
- AN0057
Creation of run-only AppleScripts or Mach-O binaries lacking symbol table and string references, especially when dropped by user space scripting engines or staging apps.
Technique names and descriptions © MITRE ATT&CK®, CC BY 4.0. Not endorsed by MITRE.