{
  "type": "attack-pattern",
  "spec_version": "2.1",
  "id": "attack-pattern--1f47e2fd-fa77-4f2f-88ee-e85df308f125",
  "created": "2017-05-31T21:30:26.057Z",
  "created_by_ref": "identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5",
  "revoked": true,
  "external_references": [
    {
      "source_name": "mitre-attack",
      "url": "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1013",
      "external_id": "T1013"
    },
    {
      "source_name": "AddMonitor",
      "description": "Microsoft. (n.d.). AddMonitor function. Retrieved November 12, 2014.",
      "url": "http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd183341"
    },
    {
      "source_name": "Bloxham",
      "description": "Bloxham, B. (n.d.). Getting Windows to Play with Itself [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved November 12, 2014.",
      "url": "https://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-22/dc-22-presentations/Bloxham/DEFCON-22-Brady-Bloxham-Windows-API-Abuse-UPDATED.pdf"
    },
    {
      "source_name": "TechNet Autoruns",
      "description": "Russinovich, M. (2016, January 4). Autoruns for Windows v13.51. Retrieved June 6, 2016.",
      "url": "https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902"
    }
  ],
  "object_marking_refs": [
    "marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168"
  ],
  "modified": "2025-10-24T17:48:30.037Z",
  "name": "Port Monitors",
  "description": "A port monitor can be set through the  (Citation: AddMonitor) API call to set a DLL to be loaded at startup. (Citation: AddMonitor) This DLL can be located in <code>C:\\Windows\\System32</code> and will be loaded by the print spooler service, spoolsv.exe, on boot. The spoolsv.exe process also runs under SYSTEM level permissions. (Citation: Bloxham) Alternatively, an arbitrary DLL can be loaded if permissions allow writing a fully-qualified pathname for that DLL to <code>HKLM\\SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\Control\\Print\\Monitors</code>. \n\nThe Registry key contains entries for the following:\n\n* Local Port\n* Standard TCP/IP Port\n* USB Monitor\n* WSD Port\n\nAdversaries can use this technique to load malicious code at startup that will persist on system reboot and execute as SYSTEM.",
  "kill_chain_phases": [
    {
      "kill_chain_name": "mitre-attack",
      "phase_name": "persistence"
    },
    {
      "kill_chain_name": "mitre-attack",
      "phase_name": "privilege-escalation"
    }
  ],
  "x_mitre_attack_spec_version": "3.2.0",
  "x_mitre_contributors": [
    "Stefan Kanthak",
    "Travis Smith, Tripwire"
  ],
  "x_mitre_deprecated": false,
  "x_mitre_domains": [
    "enterprise-attack"
  ],
  "x_mitre_is_subtechnique": false,
  "x_mitre_modified_by_ref": "identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5",
  "x_mitre_platforms": [
    "Windows"
  ],
  "x_mitre_version": "1.1"
}