AN0313: Analytic 0313
Monitoring for modification and execution of login hook scripts or LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons used for persistence.
Analyst context for executives and security teams
AN0313 is a macOS-focused detection analytic for spotting changes to, and execution of, login hook scripts or LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons used for persistence. For leaders, the value is not the analytic name itself; it is whether the organization can reliably see when macOS systems are configured to re-run unwanted code after login or restart.
Executive priority
Prioritize this as a macOS persistence visibility question. Security leaders should ask whether managed detection, endpoint logging, and IR playbooks can prove when LaunchAgents, LaunchDaemons, or login hook scripts are modified and later executed. This matters for operational resilience because weak persistence monitoring can allow an intrusion to survive reboots, user logouts, or partial cleanup efforts.
Technical view
SOC and detection teams should validate telemetry for macOS file/configuration modification and process execution related to login hook scripts and LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons. Because ATT&CK provides no specific detection logic or relationship context for this analytic, teams should treat AN0313 as a coverage requirement: confirm collection, build baselines for expected administrative or software-management activity, and tune for suspicious modification followed by execution.
Likely telemetry
- macOS endpoint file modification events for login hook scripts and LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons
- macOS process execution events showing scripts, agents, or daemons launching
- Endpoint security or EDR alerts tied to persistence-related configuration changes
- Administrative change records or device-management activity for legitimate macOS configuration updates
- Host inventory/baseline data showing expected LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons and authorized changes
Detection direction
- Validate that macOS endpoints actually report both modification and execution events, not only one of the two.
- Correlate configuration or script changes with subsequent execution to improve fidelity.
- Baseline legitimate software installation, update, and device-management behavior to reduce false positives.
- Review blind spots on unmanaged, intermittently connected, or lightly monitored macOS systems.
- Because no official detection logic is supplied, test local analytics against known-good administrative activity and incident-response scenarios before relying on alert counts as coverage evidence.
Mitigation priorities
- Limit who can modify persistence-related macOS configuration and script locations through appropriate administrative controls.
- Maintain approved baselines for LaunchAgents, LaunchDaemons, and login hook usage where applicable.
- Use change control and endpoint management records to distinguish authorized configuration changes from suspicious ones.
- Ensure incident response procedures include removal validation and reboot/logout persistence checks on macOS hosts.
- Document telemetry retention and alert review as compliance evidence where macOS endpoint monitoring is in scope.
Analyst notes and limits
This Glexia take is based only on the supplied ATT&CK analytic object. The object identifies macOS as the platform and describes monitoring for modification and execution of login hook scripts or LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons used for persistence. No tactics, relationships, aliases, or official detection logic were supplied.
ATT&CK did not provide detection pseudocode, data-source mappings, related techniques, adversary relationships, or mitigation text for this analytic. Local macOS fleet design, endpoint tooling, management workflows, and logging depth are required to determine actual coverage and alert quality.
Analytic 0313
Monitoring for modification and execution of login hook scripts or LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons used for persistence.
How security teams should use this page
Treat this object as behavior context, not an attribution claim. Validate the related groups, software, data sources, and mitigations against official ATT&CK relationships and your own telemetry before making control-coverage decisions.
All related ATT&CK context
No relationships are available in the current normalized data for this object.
Object version and sync metadata
The fields below describe the current mirrored snapshot. When Glexia retains multiple ATT&CK source imports, you can open the table to compare the same object across releases (hashes and MITRE timestamps). For MITRE’s own release notes and roadmap, see ATT&CK resources — Updates .
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases (1)
| Release | Bundle imported | Object version | Modified | Status | Raw hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.1 | 1.0 | Current bundle | 7d8c0d25eb09… |
Mirrored ATT&CK source object
The raw object is retained through the mirrored ATT&CK source bundle and object hash. The raw endpoint returns the exact object from the mirrored bundle when available.
External references and citations
MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.
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[1]
mitre-attack AN0313Open source URL
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