Thread Execution Hijacking
Parent: T1055
Description
Adversaries may inject malicious code into hijacked processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. Thread Execution Hijacking is a method of executing arbitrary code in the address space of a separate live process. Thread Execution Hijacking is commonly performed by suspending an existing process then unmapping/hollowing its memory, which can then be replaced with malicious code or the path to a DLL. A handle to an existing victim process is first created with native Windows API calls such as <code>OpenThread</code>. At this point the process can be suspended then written to, realigned to the injected code, and resumed via <code>SuspendThread </code>, <code>VirtualAllocEx</code>, <code>WriteProcessMemory</code>, <code>SetThreadContext</code>, then <code>ResumeThread</code> respectively.(Citation: Elastic Process Injection July 2017) This is very similar to [Process Hollowing](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1055/012) but targets an existing process rather than creating a process in a suspended state. 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 Thread Execution Hijacking may also evade detection from security products since the execution is masked under a legitimate process.
Mapped SPARTA techniques
No techniques mapped to this control.
Cross-framework references
Relationships published by the source frameworks themselves, reproduced here with attribution. They are not SafeMode Space mappings and carry no confidence rating of ours.
Countered by 17 in MITRE D3FEND (Defensive Techniques)
- D3-CFContent Filtering
- D3-CMContent Modification
- D3-CQContent Quarantine
- D3-DADynamic Analysis
- D3-DFDecoy File
- D3-EALExecutable Allowlisting
- D3-EDLExecutable Denylisting
- D3-EFAEmulated File Analysis
- D3-FAFile Analysis
- D3-FEFile Encryption
- D3-FEVFile Eviction
- D3-FIMFile Integrity Monitoring
- D3-LFPLocal File Permissions
- D3-RFRestore File
- D3-RFAMRemote File Access Mediation
- D3-SCASystem Call Analysis
- D3-SCFSystem Call Filtering
Cite as SafeMode Space, mitre-attack-enterprise T1055.003.