Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of software and software versions that are installed on a system or in a cloud environment. Adversaries may use the information from Software Discovery during automated discovery to shape follow-on behaviors, including whether or not the adversary fully infects the target and/or attempts specific actions.

Adversaries may attempt to enumerate software for a variety of reasons, such as figuring out what security measures are present or if the compromised system has a version of software that is vulnerable to Exploitation for Privilege Escalation.

ID: T1518

Sub-techniques: T1518.001

Tactic: Discovery

Platforms: AWS, Azure, Azure AD, GCP, Linux, Office 365, SaaS, Windows, macOS

Permissions Required: Administrator, User

Data Sources: AWS CloudTrail logs, Azure activity logs, File monitoring, Process command-line parameters, Process monitoring, Stackdriver logs

CAPEC ID: CAPEC-580

Version: 1.2

Created: 16 September 2019

Last Modified: 16 September 2020

Version Permalink

Live Version

Procedure Examples

Name	Description
BRONZE BUTLER	BRONZE BUTLER has used tools to enumerate software installed on an infected host.^[1]
Bundlore	Bundlore has the ability to enumerate what browser is being used as well as version information for Safari.^[2]
ComRAT	ComRAT can check the victim's default browser to determine which process to inject its communications module into.^[3]
down_new	down_new has the ability to gather information on installed applications.^[1]
DustySky	DustySky lists all installed software for the infected machine.^[4]
Dyre	Dyre has the ability to identify installed programs on a compromised host.^[5]
HotCroissant	HotCroissant can retrieve a list of applications from the `SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths` registry key.^[6]
Inception	Inception has enumerated installed software on compromised systems.^[7]
InvisiMole	InvisiMole can collect information about installed software used by specific users, software executed on user login, and software executed by each system.^[8]^[9]
Metamorfo	Metamorfo has searched the system for an extensive list of Brazilian banking software.^[10]
Orz	Orz can gather the victim's Internet Explorer version.^[11]
RTM	RTM can scan victim drives to look for specific banking software on the machine to determine next actions.^[12]
ShimRatReporter	ShimRatReporter gathered a list of installed software on the infected host.^[13]
TajMahal	TajMahal has the ability to identify the Internet Explorer (IE) version on an infected host.^[14]
Tropic Trooper	Tropic Trooper's backdoor could list the infected system's installed software.^[15]

Mitigations

This type of attack technique cannot be easily mitigated with preventive controls since it is based on the abuse of system features.

Detection

System and network discovery techniques normally occur throughout an operation as an adversary learns the environment. Data and events should not be viewed in isolation, but as part of a chain of behavior that could lead to other activities, such as lateral movement, based on the information obtained.

Monitor processes and command-line arguments for actions that could be taken to gather system and network information. Remote access tools with built-in features may interact directly with the Windows API to gather information. Information may also be acquired through Windows system management tools such as Windows Management Instrumentation and PowerShell.

Software Discovery

Sub-techniques (1)

Procedure Examples

Mitigations

Detection

References