Detects execution via the Apple script interpreter (osascript) followed by a network connection from the same process within a short time period. Adversaries may use malicious scripts for execution and command and control.

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Identifies execution of the Apple script interpreter (osascript) without a password prompt and with administrator privileges.

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Detects attempts to disable Gatekeeper on macOS. Gatekeeper is a security feature that's designed to ensure that only trusted software is run. Adversaries may attempt to disable Gatekeeper before executing malicious code.

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Identifies attempts to enable the root account using the dsenableroot command. This command may be abused by adversaries for persistence, as the root account is disabled by default.

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Adversaries may install a root certificate on a compromised system to avoid warnings when connecting to their command and control servers. Root certificates are used in public key cryptography to identify a root certificate authority (CA). When a root certificate is installed, the system or application will trust certificates in the root's chain of trust that have been signed by the root certificate.

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Identifies the execution of macOS built-in commands to mount a Server Message Block (SMB) network share. Adversaries may use valid accounts to interact with a remote network share using SMB.

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Identifies attempts to unload the Elastic Endpoint Security kernel extension via the kextunload command.

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Authorization plugins are used to extend the authorization services API and implement mechanisms that are not natively supported by the OS, such as multi-factor authentication with third party software. Adversaries may abuse this feature to persist and/or collect clear text credentials as they traverse the registered plugins during user logon.

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Identifies the creation of a hidden launch agent or daemon. An adversary may establish persistence by installing a new launch agent or daemon which executes at login.

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Identifies the execution of osascript to create a hidden login item. This may indicate an attempt to persist a malicious program while concealing its presence.

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Detects when curl is executed via a shell profile upon login. This indicates a curl command was added to the user's shell profile (like .zshrc or .bashrc) and is executed automatically at login, which could be used for persistence and payload delivery.

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Detects when a discovery command is executed followed by the immediate modification of a suspicious file via the same process. Many types of malware execute discovery commands, save the output to a file, and then exfiltrate that file via their C2 channel.

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Detects when a DNS request is made for an IP lookup service to determine the external IP address of the system via an unsigned or untrusted binary. This is commonly used by malware for reconnaissance before establishing C2 connections.

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Identifies the execution of macOS built-in commands used to dump user account hashes. Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login information in the form of a hash. These hashes can be cracked or leveraged for lateral movement.

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Adversaries may dump the content of the keychain storage data from a system to acquire credentials. Keychains are the built-in way for macOS to keep track of users' passwords and credentials for many services and features, including Wi-Fi and website passwords, secure notes, certificates, and Kerberos.

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Detects the use of process environment variables (DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES or LD_PRELOAD) to inject a shared library into a binary at or prior to execution. A threat actor may use this technique to load a malicious shared library for persistence, privilege escalation, and defense evasion. This activity is uncommon and typically indicates malicious behavior.

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Identifies the creation or modification of the Event Monitor Daemon (emond) rules. Adversaries may abuse this service by writing a rule to execute commands when a defined event occurs, such as system start up or user authentication.

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Identifies the execution of macOS built-in commands related to account or group enumeration. Adversaries may use account and group information to orient themselves before deciding how to act.

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Detects executable file downloads via wget to suspicious locations such as /tmp or /Users/Shared. Threat actors commonly use wget to download malicious payloads and additional tools for post-exploitation.

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Identifies attempts to execute a child process from within the context of an Electron application using the child_process Node.js module. Adversaries may abuse this technique to inherit permissions from parent processes.

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Identifies execution of the security_authtrampoline process via a scripting interpreter. This occurs when programs use AuthorizationExecute-WithPrivileges from the Security.framework to run another program with root privileges. It should not be run by itself, as this is a sign of execution with explicit logon credentials.

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Detects applications making a curl request to a known public IP address lookup web service. Malware commonly performs this action during reconnaissance to assess potential targets and identify the victim's external IP address.

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Finder Sync plugins enable users to extend Finder’s functionality by modifying the user interface. Adversaries may abuse this feature by adding a rogue Finder Plugin to repeatedly execute malicious payloads for persistence.

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Detects the first time a Python process accesses sensitive credential files on a given host. This behavior may indicate post-exploitation credential theft via a malicious Python script, compromised dependency, or malicious model file deserialization. Legitimate Python processes do not typically access credential files such as SSH keys, AWS credentials, browser cookies, Kerberos tickets, or keychain databases, so a first occurrence is a strong indicator of compromise.

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Detects the first time a Python process creates or modifies a LaunchAgent or LaunchDaemon plist file on a given host. Malicious Python scripts, compromised dependencies, or model file deserialization can establish persistence on macOS by writing plist files to LaunchAgent or LaunchDaemon directories. Legitimate Python processes do not typically create persistence mechanisms, so a first occurrence is a strong indicator of compromise.

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Detects the first time a Python process spawns a shell on a given host. Malicious Python scripts, compromised dependencies, or model file deserialization can result in shell spawns that would not occur during normal workflows. Since legitimate Python processes rarely shell out to interactive shells, a first occurrence of this behavior on a host is a strong signal of potential compromise.

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Detects suspicious access to the /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist file, indicating a potential attempt to verify or exploit Full Disk Access (FDA) permissions. This file is often checked by malware to confirm FDA privileges, which allow unrestricted access to sensitive user data.

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Detects when macOS Gatekeeper is overridden followed by execution of the same binary from a suspicious location. This behavior indicates an attempt to bypass Apple's security controls and execute potentially malicious software downloaded from the internet.

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Detects a two-stage Google Calendar C2 pattern where a scripting runtime (Node.js, Python, osascript) first connects to calendar.app.google to retrieve a hidden C2 address, then initiates a secondary connection to the decoded C2 host. This sequence is characteristic of packages using Unicode steganography in Google Calendar events to stage dynamic command-and-control endpoints.

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Identifies the use of the Kerberos credential cache (kcc) utility to dump locally cached Kerberos tickets. Adversaries may attempt to dump credential material in the form of tickets that can be leveraged for lateral movement.

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Adversaries may collect the keychain storage data from a system to acquire credentials. Keychains are the built-in way for macOS to keep track of users' passwords and credentials for many services and features such as WiFi passwords, websites, secure notes and certificates.

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Adversaries may collect keychain storage data from a system to in order to acquire credentials. Keychains are the built-in way for macOS to keep track of users' passwords and credentials for many services and features, including Wi-Fi and website passwords, secure notes, certificates, and Kerberos.

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An adversary can establish persistence by installing a new launch agent that executes at login by using launchd or launchctl to load a plist into the appropriate directories.

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Detects the manual loading of a Chromium-based browser extension via command line arguments. This activity is suspicious and could indicate a threat actor loading a malicious extension to persist or collect browsing secrets such as cookies and authentication tokens.

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Identifies modifications to an environment variable using the built-in launchctl command. Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking certain environment variables to load arbitrary libraries or bypass certain restrictions.

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Identifies changes to the Safari configuration using the built-in defaults command. Adversaries may attempt to enable or disable certain Safari settings, such as enabling JavaScript from Apple Events to ease in the hijacking of the users browser.

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Detects when an unusual parent process like Node.js, Python, or osascript executes the pbpaste binary to access clipboard data. This technique has been used by malware like OtterCookie to steal passwords and seed phrases from the clipboard.

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Detects when Perl makes an outbound network connection to a non-private IP address. Perl is a scripting language that comes pre-installed on macOS and offers extensive capabilities for adversaries. Its use for network connections on macOS systems is uncommon and potentially suspicious.

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Identifies the creation of a hidden launch agent or daemon property list file. An adversary may establish persistence by installing a new launch agent or daemon which executes at login. Hidden plist files with filenames starting with a dot are particularly suspicious.

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Identifies the creation or modification of a DirectoryService PlugIns (dsplug) file. The DirectoryService daemon launches on each system boot and automatically reloads after crash. It scans and executes bundles that are located in the DirectoryServices PlugIns folder and can be abused by adversaries to maintain persistence.

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An adversary can establish persistence by modifying an existing macOS dock property list in order to execute a malicious application instead of the intended one when invoked.

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Detects modification of a Folder Action script. A Folder Action script is executed when the folder to which it is attached has items added or removed, or when its window is opened, closed, moved, or resized. Adversaries may abuse this feature to establish persistence by utilizing a malicious script.

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Identifies use of the Defaults command to install a login or logoff hook in MacOS. An adversary may abuse this capability to establish persistence in an environment by inserting code to be executed at login or logout.

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Identifies the creation of a launch agent or daemon property list file containing abnormal or suspicious values. An adversary may establish persistence by installing a new launch agent or daemon which executes at login. This rule looks for plist files created in LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons directories with paths commonly used by malware.

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Identifies attempts to add an account to the admin group via the command line. This could be an indication of privilege escalation activity.

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Detects when a scripting interpreter makes an outbound network connection to an Ethereum blockchain endpoint for command and control purposes. Adversaries may leverage Ethereum blockchain infrastructure as a covert C2 channel to receive commands and exfiltrate data, as observed in campaigns like SleepyDuck malware.

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Detects when curl or nscurl is spawned by a shell or osascript to make a JSON-RPC request to a blockchain endpoint for command and control purposes. Adversaries may leverage blockchain smart contracts as a covert C2 channel to retrieve commands or payload staging information, as observed in ClickFix campaigns.

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Identifies attempts to create a local account that will be hidden from the macOS logon window. This may indicate an attempt to evade user attention while maintaining persistence using a separate local account.

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Identifies use of Bifrost, a known macOS Kerberos pentesting tool, which can be used to dump cached Kerberos tickets or attempt unauthorized authentication techniques such as pass-the-ticket/hash and kerberoasting.

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Identifies a high number of inbound SSH login attempts on a macOS host within a short time window. On macOS, each inbound SSH authentication attempt spawns the sshd-keygen-wrapper process once, whether the login succeeds or fails. Adversaries may perform password brute force or password spraying against exposed SSH services to obtain unauthorized access.

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Identifies the creation of a suspicious zip file prepended with special characters. Sandboxed Microsoft Office applications on macOS are allowed to write files that start with special characters, which can be combined with an AutoStart location to achieve sandbox evasion.

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Identifies modifications to the Atom desktop text editor Init File. Adversaries may add malicious JavaScript code to the init.coffee file that will be executed upon the Atom application opening.

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Identifies the creation or modification of the login window property list (plist). Adversaries may modify plist files to run a program during system boot or user login for persistence.

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Identifies the creation or modification of the default configuration for periodic tasks. Adversaries may abuse periodic tasks to execute malicious code or maintain persistence.

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Identifies use of the Secure Copy Protocol (SCP) to copy files locally by abusing the auto addition of the Secure Shell Daemon (sshd) to the authorized application list for Full Disk Access. This may indicate attempts to bypass macOS privacy controls to access sensitive files.

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Identifies the use of sqlite3 to directly modify the Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC) SQLite database. This may indicate an attempt to bypass macOS privacy controls, including access to sensitive resources like the system camera, microphone, address book, and calendar.

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Identifies modifications to the root crontab file. Adversaries may overwrite this file to gain code execution with root privileges by exploiting privileged file write or move related vulnerabilities.

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Identifies the use of osascript to execute scripts via standard input that may prompt a user with a rogue dialog for credentials.

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Detects deletion of the quarantine attribute by an unusual process (xattr). In macOS, when applications or programs are downloaded from the internet, there is a quarantine flag set on the file. This attribute is read by Apple's Gatekeeper defense program at execution time. An adversary may disable this attribute to evade defenses.

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Detects use of the systemsetup command to enable remote SSH Login.

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Identifies when a screensaver plist file is modified by an unexpected process. An adversary can maintain persistence on a macOS endpoint by creating a malicious screensaver (.saver) file and configuring the screensaver plist file to execute code each time the screensaver is activated.

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Detects the execution of a script interpreter followed by an outbound network connection to a raw IP address on a non-standard port. Many initial access scripts and malware implants connect directly to C2 or payload servers using non-standard ports to avoid detection.

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Detects when a sensitive file is accessed followed by the immediate creation of a compressed file in a suspicious location. This activity can indicate an attempt to collect sensitive local data and stage it for exfiltration.

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Identifies the execution of the shell process (sh) via scripting (JXA or AppleScript). Adversaries may use the doShellScript functionality in JXA or do shell script in AppleScript to execute system commands.

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Identifies changes to the SoftwareUpdate preferences using the built-in defaults command. Adversaries may abuse this in an attempt to disable security updates.

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Identifies the macOS Screen Sharing file copy helper SSFileCopyReceiver creating or modifying files in common persistence locations, including system-wide and per-user LaunchDaemons/LaunchAgents, shell profiles, SSH authorized_keys, cron tabs, and hidden paths under root's home directory. SSFileCopyReceiver performs file writes with root authority on behalf of a remote viewer.Pre-authentication exploitation of the Screen Sharing service (CVE-2026-65400) abuses this write primitive to establish persistence; observed in-the-wild activity dropped LaunchDaemons and modified shell startup files to run a cryptocurrency miner as root.

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Identifies execution of the macOS Screen Sharing file-copy helper SSFileCopySender with root UID/GID attributes (0 80). Under the native Apple authentication path this helper runs in the connecting user's context; execution as root is anomalous and consistent with pre-authentication exploitation of the Screen Sharing service (CVE-2026-65400), where a flawed SRP validation path lets an unauthenticated attacker reach privileged file operations. Note that the 0/80 UID/GID pair reflects only initial exploitation attempts and can be evaded once an attacker enumerates another local account. It is advisable to treat this as a tripwire and pair it with the SSFileCopyReceiver Writing to Common Persistence Locations rule coverage.

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Adversaries may create or modify the Sublime application plugins or scripts to execute a malicious payload each time the Sublime application is started.

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Detects suspicious creation or modification of the Apple Mail SyncedRules plist file by a non-Mail application. An adversary could establish persistence by creating or modifying an Apple Mail rule to point to a script file on disk, which will execute when an email matching the trigger is received.

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Identifies the execution of the Automator Workflows process followed by a network connection from it's XPC service. Adversaries may drop a custom workflow template that hosts malicious JavaScript for Automation (JXA) code as an alternative to using osascript.

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Detects when a script interpreter (osascript, Node.js, Python) with minimal arguments makes an outbound connection to AWS S3 or CloudFront domains. Threat actors have used S3 buckets for both command and control and data exfiltration. Script interpreters connecting to cloud storage should be investigated for potential malicious activity.

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Identifies the execution of a suspicious browser child process. Adversaries may gain access to a system through a user visiting a website over the normal course of browsing. With this technique, the user's web browser is typically targeted for exploitation.

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Identifies suspicious modifications of the calendar file by an unusual process. Adversaries may create a custom calendar notification procedure to execute a malicious program at a recurring interval to establish persistence.

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Detects attempts to exploit privilege escalation vulnerabilities related to the Adobe Acrobat Reader PrivilegedHelperTool responsible for installing updates. For more information, refer to CVE-2020-9615, CVE-2020-9614 and CVE-2020-9613 and verify that the impacted system is patched.

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Identifies attempts to create or modify a crontab via a process that is not crontab (i.e python, osascript, etc.). This activity should not be highly prevalent and could indicate the use of cron as a persistence mechanism by a threat actor.

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Detects the use of curl by a macOS application binary to connect to a raw IP URI and download a second stage payload. Threat actors often utilize a benign looking or legitimate application as a first stage dropper. Curl is commonly used as it doesn't enforce Gatekeeper checks.

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Detects the use of curl to a Google Script endpoint for the purpose of downloading a second stage payload or tool. Threat actors utilize exposed Google Script endpoints to host payloads as Google URLs are generally whitelisted and bypass security controls.

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Detects curl requests to JAMF Pro endpoints from suspicious processes like unsigned binaries or scripting interpreters. This indicates potential abuse of stolen JAMF credentials for lateral movement in enterprise macOS environments.

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Identifies the execution of a suspicious child process of the Event Monitor Daemon (emond). Adversaries may abuse this service by writing a rule to execute commands when a defined event occurs, such as system start up or user authentication.

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Detects when an installer package executes a pre or post install script that immediately copies a file to suspicious locations on the filesystem. This activity is not common and usually indicates a malicious package attempting to install persistence or establish a working directory for malware.

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Identifies the execution of a launchd child process with a hidden file. An adversary can establish persistence by installing a new logon item, launch agent, or daemon that executes upon login.

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Detects the execution of a MacOS installer package with an abnormal child process (e.g bash) followed immediately by a network connection via a suspicious process (e.g curl). Threat actors will build and distribute malicious MacOS installer packages, which have a .pkg extension, many times imitating valid software in order to persuade and infect their victims often using the package files (e.g pre/post install scripts etc.) to download additional tools or malicious software. If this rule fires it should indicate the installation of a malicious or suspicious package.

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Identifies suspicious child processes of frequently targeted Microsoft Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel). These child processes are often launched during exploitation of Office applications or by documents with malicious macros.

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Detects the execution of an unsigned or untrusted binary followed by an outbound network connection to a raw IP address on a non-standard port. Many malicious payloads will connect directly to C2 or a payload server using non-standard ports.

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Identifies a high volume of pbpaste executions, which may indicate a bash loop continuously collecting clipboard contents, potentially allowing an attacker to harvest user credentials or other sensitive information.

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Detects the unusual use of csrutil by a macOS application to check System Integrity Protection (SIP) status. While not malicious in itself, this activity is highly indicative of malware verifying it is not running in a virtual machine or protected environment prior to executing its payload.

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Detects the creation or modification of a StartupParameters.plist file, indicating the presence of a StartupItem on the system. StartupItems have been deprecated on modern macOS systems (post Mavericks) in favor of Launch Daemons but still function. Creation of a StartupItem should be highly suspicious as legitimate applications no longer use this method for persistence.

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Detects when TCC access is granted for multiple user folders like Desktop, Downloads and Documents in quick succession. Many information stealers require TCC permissions to access these locations and will prompt users to grant access for data exfiltration.

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Identifies the access or file open of web browser sensitive files by an untrusted/unsigned process or osascript. Adversaries may acquire credentials from web browsers by reading files specific to the target browser.

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Detects when the SystemConfiguration preferences plist file is accessed by an unusual or suspicious process. This may indicate an attempt to gain situational awareness on a target system by reading network configuration details.

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Keychains are the built-in way for macOS to keep track of users' passwords and credentials for many services and features, including Wi-Fi and website passwords, secure notes, certificates, and Kerberos. Adversaries may collect the keychain storage data from a system to acquire credentials.

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Identifies the use of the mount_apfs command to mount the entire file system through Apple File System (APFS) snapshots as read-only and with the noowners flag set. This action enables the adversary to access almost any file in the file system, including all user data and files protected by Apple’s privacy framework (TCC).

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Identifies when a child process is spawned by the screensaver engine process, which is consistent with an attacker's malicious payload being executed after the screensaver activated on the endpoint. An adversary can maintain persistence on a macOS endpoint by creating a malicious screensaver (.saver) file and configuring the screensaver plist file to execute code each time the screensaver is activated.

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Detects when a Python process loads an unusual library from within the user's home directory where the file is not a standard .so or .dylib file. This technique has been observed in APT campaigns by the Lazarus Group and Slow Pisces to load malicious payloads.

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This rule monitors for the unusual occurrence of outbound network connections to suspicious top level domains.

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This rule monitors for the unusual occurrence of outbound network connections to suspicious webservice domains.

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Identifies users being added to the admin group. This could be an indication of privilege escalation activity.

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Identifies the execution of macOS built-in commands to connect to an existing Virtual Private Network (VPN). Adversaries may use VPN connections to laterally move and control remote systems on a network.

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Identifies the use of the built-in networksetup command to configure webproxy settings. This may indicate an attempt to hijack web browser traffic for credential access via traffic sniffing or redirection.

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