Sub-technique of T1552 Unsecured Credentials.View on attack.mitre.org
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials. These can be files created by users to store their own credentials, shared credential stores for a group of individuals, configuration files containing passwords for a system or service, or source code/binary files containing embedded passwords.
It is possible to extract passwords from backups or saved virtual machines through OS Credential Dumping. Passwords may also be obtained from Group Policy Preferences stored on the Windows Domain Controller.
In cloud and/or containerized environments, authenticated user and service account credentials are often stored in local configuration and credential files. They may also be found as parameters to deployment commands in container logs. In some cases, these files can be copied and reused on another machine or the contents can be read and then used to authenticate without needing to copy any files.
Rules on DetectionCode tagged with T1552.001.
| Rule | Type | Risk | Data source |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCP Github Suspicious Operation | Hunting | NULL | MCP Server |
| MCP Sensitive System File Search | Hunting | NULL | MCP Server |
| Potential password in username | Hunting | NULL | Linux Secure |
| Shai-Hulud 2 Exfiltration Artifact Files | TTP | NULL | Sysmon for Linux EventID 11, Sysmon EventID 11 |
| Windows Unusual FileZilla XML Config Access | Anomaly | NULL | Windows Event Log Security 4663 |
| Windows Unusual Intelliform Storage Registry Access | Anomaly | NULL | Windows Event Log Security 4663 |
| Windows WinSCP Configuration Security Access | Anomaly | NULL | Windows Event Log Security 4663 |
| Used by | Procedure example |
|---|---|
| GroupAPT3 | APT3 has a tool that can locate credentials in files on the file system such as those from Firefox or Chrome. |
| GroupAPT33 | APT33 has used a variety of publicly available tools like LaZagne to gather credentials. |
| GroupEmber Bear | Ember Bear has dumped configuration settings in accessed IP cameras including plaintext credentials. |
| GroupFIN13 | FIN13 has obtained administrative credentials by browsing through local files on a compromised machine. |
| GroupFox Kitten | Fox Kitten has accessed files to gain valid credentials. |
| GroupIndrik Spider | Indrik Spider has searched files to obtain and exfiltrate credentials. |
| GroupKimsuky | Kimsuky has used tools that are capable of obtaining credentials from saved mail. |
| GroupLeafminer | Leafminer used several tools for retrieving login and password information, including LaZagne. |
| Used by | Procedure example |
|---|---|
| ToolAADInternals | AADInternals can gather unsecured credentials for Azure AD services, such as Azure AD Connect, from a local machine. |
| MalwareAgent Tesla | Agent Tesla has the ability to extract credentials from configuration or support files. |
| MalwareAzorult | Azorult can steal credentials in files belonging to common software such as Skype, Telegram, and Steam. |
| MalwareBlackEnergy | BlackEnergy has used a plug-in to gather credentials stored in files on the host by various software programs, including The Bat! email client, Outlook, and Windows Credential Store. |
| MalwareEmotet | Emotet has been observed leveraging a module that retrieves passwords stored on a system for the current logged-on user. |
| ToolEmpire | Empire can use various modules to search for files containing passwords. |
| MalwareHildegard | Hildegard has searched for SSH keys, Docker credentials, and Kubernetes service tokens. |
| MalwarejRAT | jRAT can capture passwords from common chat applications such as MSN Messenger, AOL, Instant Messenger, and and Google Talk. |
| Used by | Procedure example |
|---|---|
| CampaignAnthropic AI-orchestrated Campaign | During the Anthropic AI-orchestrated Campaign, the adversary used Claude Code to extract authentication certificates stored in system configuration files across compromised environments. |
| CampaignLeviathan Australian Intrusions | Leviathan gathered credentials stored in files related to Building Management System (BMS) operations during Leviathan Australian Intrusions. |
| CampaignSharePoint ToolShell Exploitation | During SharePoint ToolShell Exploitation, threat actors accessed web.config and machine.config to extract MachineKey values, enabling them to forge legitimate VIEWSTATE tokens for future deserialization payloads. |
Data from MITRE ATT&CK® (Enterprise). ATT&CK® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation.
