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Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges. Exploitation of a software vulnerability occurs when an adversary takes advantage of a programming error in a program, service, or within the operating system software or kernel itself to execute adversary-controlled code. Security constructs such as permission levels will often hinder access to information and use of certain techniques, so adversaries will likely need to perform privilege escalation to include use of software exploitation to circumvent those restrictions.

When initially gaining access to a system, an adversary may be operating within a lower privileged process which will prevent them from accessing certain resources on the system. Vulnerabilities may exist, usually in operating system components and software commonly running at higher permissions, that can be exploited to gain higher levels of access on the system. This could enable someone to move from unprivileged or user level permissions to SYSTEM or root permissions depending on the component that is vulnerable. This could also enable an adversary to move from a virtualized environment, such as within a virtual machine or container, onto the underlying host. This may be a necessary step for an adversary compromising an endpoint system that has been properly configured and limits other privilege escalation methods.

Adversaries may bring a signed vulnerable driver onto a compromised machine so that they can exploit the vulnerability to execute code in kernel mode. This process is sometimes referred to as Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD).[1][2] Adversaries may include the vulnerable driver with files delivered during Initial Access or download it to a compromised system via Ingress Tool Transfer or Lateral Tool Transfer.

ID: T1068
Sub-techniques:  No sub-techniques
ⓘ
Tactic: Privilege Escalation
ⓘ
Platforms: Containers, Linux, Windows, macOS
ⓘ
Permissions Required: User
ⓘ
Effective Permissions: User
Contributors: Idan Revivo, @idanr86, Team Nautilus Aqua Security; Joas Antonio dos Santos, @C0d3Cr4zy, Inmetrics; Yaniv Agman, @AgmanYaniv, Team Nautilus Aqua Security
Version: 1.3
Created: 31 May 2017
Last Modified: 22 April 2021

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
G0007 APT28

APT28 has exploited CVE-2014-4076, CVE-2015-2387, CVE-2015-1701, CVE-2017-0263 to escalate privileges.[3][4][5]
G0016 APT29

APT29 has exploited CVE-2021-36934 to escalate privileges on a compromised host.[6]
G0050 APT32

APT32 has used CVE-2016-7255 to escalate privileges.[7]
G0064 APT33

APT33 has used a publicly available exploit for CVE-2017-0213 to escalate privileges on a local system.[8]
S0484 Carberp

Carberp has exploited multiple Windows vulnerabilities (CVE-2010-2743, CVE-2010-3338, CVE-2010-4398, CVE-2008-1084) and a .NET Runtime Optimization vulnerability for privilege escalation.[9][10]
G0080 Cobalt Group

Cobalt Group has used exploits to increase their levels of rights and privileges.[11]
S0154 Cobalt Strike

Cobalt Strike can exploit vulnerabilities such as MS14-058.[12][13]
S0050 CosmicDuke

CosmicDuke attempts to exploit privilege escalation vulnerabilities CVE-2010-0232 or CVE-2010-4398.[14]
S0363 Empire

Empire can exploit vulnerabilities such as MS16-032 and MS16-135.[15]
G0037 FIN6

FIN6 has used tools to exploit Windows vulnerabilities in order to escalate privileges. The tools targeted CVE-2013-3660, CVE-2011-2005, and CVE-2010-4398, all of which could allow local users to access kernel-level privileges.[16]
G0061 FIN8

FIN8 has exploited the CVE-2016-0167 local vulnerability.[17][18]
S0601 Hildegard

Hildegard has used the BOtB tool which exploits CVE-2019-5736.[19]

S0260 InvisiMole

InvisiMole has exploited CVE-2007-5633 vulnerability in the speedfan.sys driver to obtain kernel mode privileges.[1]
S0044 JHUHUGIT

JHUHUGIT has exploited CVE-2015-1701 and CVE-2015-2387 to escalate privileges.[20][21]
S0664 Pandora

Pandora can use CVE-2017-15303 to bypass Windows Driver Signature Enforcement (DSE) protection and load its driver.[22]
G0068 PLATINUM

PLATINUM has leveraged a zero-day vulnerability to escalate privileges.[23]
S0378 PoshC2

PoshC2 contains modules for local privilege escalation exploits such as CVE-2016-9192 and CVE-2016-0099.[24]
S0654 ProLock

ProLock can use CVE-2019-0859 to escalate privileges on a compromised host.[25]
S0125 Remsec

Remsec has a plugin to drop and execute vulnerable Outpost Sandbox or avast! Virtualization drivers in order to gain kernel mode privileges.[26]
S0623 Siloscape

Siloscape has leveraged a vulnerability in Windows containers to perform an Escape to Host.[27]
S0603 Stuxnet

Stuxnet used MS10-073 and an undisclosed Task Scheduler vulnerability to escalate privileges on local Windows machines.[28]
G0027 Threat Group-3390

Threat Group-3390 has used CVE-2014-6324 and CVE-2017-0213 to escalate privileges.[29][30]
G0131 Tonto Team

Tonto Team has exploited CVE-2019-0803 and MS16-032 to escalate privileges.[31]
G0010 Turla

Turla has exploited vulnerabilities in the VBoxDrv.sys driver to obtain kernel mode privileges.[2]
G0107 Whitefly

Whitefly has used an open-source tool to exploit a known Windows privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2016-0051) on unpatched computers.[32]

S0176 Wingbird

Wingbird exploits CVE-2016-4117 to allow an executable to gain escalated privileges.[33]
S0658 XCSSET

XCSSET has used a zero-day exploit in the ssh launchdaemon to elevate privileges and bypass SIP.[34]
G0128 ZIRCONIUM

ZIRCONIUM has exploited CVE-2017-0005 for local privilege escalation.[35]
S0672 Zox

Zox has the ability to leverage local and remote exploits to escalate privileges.[36]

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1048 Application Isolation and Sandboxing

Make it difficult for adversaries to advance their operation through exploitation of undiscovered or unpatched vulnerabilities by using sandboxing. Other types of virtualization and application microsegmentation may also mitigate the impact of some types of exploitation. Risks of additional exploits and weaknesses in these systems may still exist. [37]
M1038 Execution Prevention

Consider blocking the execution of known vulnerable drivers that adversaries may exploit to execute code in kernel mode. Validate driver block rules in audit mode to ensure stability prior to production deployment.[38]
M1050 Exploit Protection

Security applications that look for behavior used during exploitation such as Windows Defender Exploit Guard (WDEG) and the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) can be used to mitigate some exploitation behavior. [39] Control flow integrity checking is another way to potentially identify and stop a software exploit from occurring. [40] Many of these protections depend on the architecture and target application binary for compatibility and may not work for software components targeted for privilege escalation.
M1019 Threat Intelligence Program

Develop a robust cyber threat intelligence capability to determine what types and levels of threat may use software exploits and 0-days against a particular organization.
M1051 Update Software

Update software regularly by employing patch management for internal enterprise endpoints and servers.

Detection

ID Data Source Data Component
DS0027 Driver Driver Load

Detecting software exploitation may be difficult depending on the tools available. Software exploits may not always succeed or may cause the exploited process to become unstable or crash. Also look for behavior on the endpoint system that might indicate successful compromise, such as abnormal behavior of the processes. This could include suspicious files written to disk, evidence of Process Injection for attempts to hide execution or evidence of Discovery. Consider monitoring for the presence or loading (ex: Sysmon Event ID 6) of known vulnerable drivers that adversaries may drop and exploit to execute code in kernel mode.[38]

Higher privileges are often necessary to perform additional actions such as some methods of OS Credential Dumping. Look for additional activity that may indicate an adversary has gained higher privileges.

References

  1. Hromcova, Z. and Cherpanov, A. (2020, June). INVISIMOLE: THE HIDDEN PART OF THE STORY. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  2. Reichel, D. and Idrizovic, E. (2020, June 17). AcidBox: Rare Malware Repurposing Turla Group Exploit Targeted Russian Organizations. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  3. Bitdefender. (2015, December). APT28 Under the Scope. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  4. Anthe, C. et al. (2015, October 19). Microsoft Security Intelligence Report Volume 19. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  5. Kaspersky Lab's Global Research & Analysis Team. (2018, February 20). A Slice of 2017 Sofacy Activity. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  6. ESET. (2022, February). THREAT REPORT T3 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  7. Carr, N.. (2017, May 14). Cyber Espionage is Alive and Well: APT32 and the Threat to Global Corporations. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  8. Ackerman, G., et al. (2018, December 21). OVERRULED: Containing a Potentially Destructive Adversary. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  9. Matrosov, A., Rodionov, E., Volkov, D., Harley, D. (2012, March 2). Win32/Carberp When You’re in a Black Hole, Stop Digging. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  10. Giuliani, M., Allievi, A. (2011, February 28). Carberp - a modular information stealing trojan. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  11. Matveeva, V. (2017, August 15). Secrets of Cobalt. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  12. Cobalt Strike. (2017, December 8). Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  13. Strategic Cyber LLC. (2020, November 5). Cobalt Strike: Advanced Threat Tactics for Penetration Testers. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  14. F-Secure Labs. (2015, September 17). The Dukes: 7 years of Russian cyberespionage. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  15. Schroeder, W., Warner, J., Nelson, M. (n.d.). Github PowerShellEmpire. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  16. FireEye Threat Intelligence. (2016, April). Follow the Money: Dissecting the Operations of the Cyber Crime Group FIN6. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  17. Kizhakkinan, D. et al.. (2016, May 11). Threat Actor Leverages Windows Zero-day Exploit in Payment Card Data Attacks. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  18. Elovitz, S. & Ahl, I. (2016, August 18). Know Your Enemy: New Financially-Motivated & Spear-Phishing Group. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  19. Chen, J. et al. (2021, February 3). Hildegard: New TeamTNT Cryptojacking Malware Targeting Kubernetes. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  20. ESET. (2016, October). En Route with Sednit - Part 1: Approaching the Target. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  1. ESET Research. (2015, July 10). Sednit APT Group Meets Hacking Team. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  2. Lunghi, D. and Lu, K. (2021, April 9). Iron Tiger APT Updates Toolkit With Evolved SysUpdate Malware. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  3. Windows Defender Advanced Threat Hunting Team. (2016, April 29). PLATINUM: Targeted attacks in South and Southeast Asia. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  4. Nettitude. (2018, July 23). Python Server for PoshC2. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  5. Group IB. (2020, September). LOCK LIKE A PRO. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  6. Kaspersky Lab's Global Research & Analysis Team. (2016, August 9). The ProjectSauron APT. Technical Analysis. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  7. Prizmant, D. (2021, June 7). Siloscape: First Known Malware Targeting Windows Containers to Compromise Cloud Environments. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  8. Nicolas Falliere, Liam O. Murchu, Eric Chien. (2011, February). W32.Stuxnet Dossier. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  9. Counter Threat Unit Research Team. (2017, June 27). BRONZE UNION Cyberespionage Persists Despite Disclosures. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  10. Global Threat Center, Intelligence Team. (2020, December). APT27 Turns to Ransomware. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  11. Daniel Lughi, Jaromir Horejsi. (2020, October 2). Tonto Team - Exploring the TTPs of an advanced threat actor operating a large infrastructure. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  12. Symantec. (2019, March 6). Whitefly: Espionage Group has Singapore in Its Sights. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  13. Anthe, C. et al. (2016, December 14). Microsoft Security Intelligence Report Volume 21. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  14. Mac Threat Response, Mobile Research Team. (2020, August 13). The XCSSET Malware: Inserts Malicious Code Into Xcode Projects, Performs UXSS Backdoor Planting in Safari, and Leverages Two Zero-day Exploits. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  15. Itkin, E. and Cohen, I. (2021, February 22). The Story of Jian – How APT31 Stole and Used an Unknown Equation Group 0-Day. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  16. Novetta. (n.d.). Operation SMN: Axiom Threat Actor Group Report. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  17. Goodin, D. (2017, March 17). Virtual machine escape fetches $105,000 at Pwn2Own hacking contest - updated. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  18. Microsoft. (2020, October 15). Microsoft recommended driver block rules. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  19. Nunez, N. (2017, August 9). Moving Beyond EMET II – Windows Defender Exploit Guard. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  20. Wikipedia. (2018, January 11). Control-flow integrity. Retrieved March 12, 2018.