T1055.008: Ptrace System Calls
| View on MITRE ATT&CK | T1055.008 |
|---|---|
| Tactic(s) | Defense Evasion, Privilege Escalation |
Data from MITRE ATT&CK®:
Adversaries may inject malicious code into processes via ptrace (process trace) system calls in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. Ptrace system call injection is a method of executing arbitrary code in the address space of a separate live process.
Ptrace system call injection involves attaching to and modifying a running process. The ptrace system call enables a debugging process to observe and control another process (and each individual thread), including changing memory and register values.(Citation: PTRACE man) Ptrace system call injection is commonly performed by writing arbitrary code into a running process (ex: malloc) then invoking that memory with PTRACE_SETREGS to set the register containing the next instruction to execute. Ptrace system call injection can also be done with PTRACE_POKETEXT/PTRACE_POKEDATA, which copy data to a specific address in the target processes’ memory (ex: the current address of the next instruction). (Citation: PTRACE man)(Citation: Medium Ptrace JUL 2018)
Ptrace system call injection may not be possible targeting processes that are non-child processes and/or have higher-privileges.(Citation: BH Linux Inject)
Running code in the context of another process may allow access to the process's memory, system/network resources, and possibly elevated privileges. Execution via ptrace system call injection may also evade detection from security products since the execution is masked under a legitimate process.
© 2024 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation.
Cyber Threat Graph Context
Explore how this ATT&CK Technique relates to the wider threat graph
Mitigations for this technique
MITRE ATT&CK Mitigations
Behavior Prevention on Endpoint
Use capabilities to prevent suspicious behavior patterns from occurring on endpoint systems. This could include suspicious process, file, API call, etc. behavior.Privileged Account Management
Manage the creation, modification, use, and permissions associated to privileged accounts, including SYSTEM and root.How to detect this technique
MITRE ATT&CK Data Components
OS API Execution (Process)
Operating system function/method calls executed by a processProcess Modification (Process)
Changes made to a process, or its contents, typically to write and/or execute code in the memory of the target process (ex: Sysmon EID 8)Process Access (Process)
Opening of a process by another process, typically to read memory of the target process (ex: Sysmon EID 10)SP800-53 Controls
See which controls can help protect against this MITRE ATT&CK technique. This is based on mappings to associated SP800-53 controls produced by the MITRE Engenuity Center for Threat-Informed Defense.