Subvert Trust Controls
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 undermine security controls that will either warn users of untrusted activity or prevent execution of untrusted programs. Operating systems and security products may contain mechanisms to identify programs or websites as possessing some level of trust. Examples of such features would include a program being allowed to run because it is signed by a valid code signing certificate, a program prompting the user with a warning because it has an attribute set from being downloaded from the Internet, or getting an indication that you are about to connect to an untrusted site. Adversaries may attempt to subvert these trust mechanisms. The method adversaries use will depend on the specific mechanism they seek to subvert. Adversaries may conduct File and Directory Permissions Modification or Modify Registry in support of subverting these controls. Adversaries may also create or steal code signing certificates to acquire trust on target systems.
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- AN1246
Detection correlates abnormal installation or modification of root or code-signing certificates, creation/modification of suspicious registry keys for trust providers, and unusual module loads from non-standard locations. Identifies unsigned or improperly signed executables bypassing trust prompts, combined with persistence artifacts.
- AN1247
Detection monitors extended attribute manipulation (xattr) to strip quarantine or trust metadata, anomalous installation of root certificates in /etc/ssl or /usr/local/share/ca-certificates, and unauthorized modification of system trust stores. Correlates with unexpected process execution involving package managers or custom certificate utilities.
- AN1248
Detection monitors modification of code signing attributes, Gatekeeper/quarantine flags, and insertion of new trust certificates via security add-trusted-cert. Identifies adversary use of xattr to strip quarantine flags from downloaded binaries. Correlates with abnormal module loads bypassing SIP protections.
Technique names and descriptions © MITRE ATT&CK®, CC BY 4.0. Not endorsed by MITRE.