AN1111: Analytic 1111
Detects abuse of AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges API to gain elevated privileges via user credential prompts, typically through invocation of /usr/libexec/security_authtrampoline. Detection involves correlation of API usage, binary reputation, and prompt context.
Analyst context for executives and security teams
This analytic matters because it focuses on a macOS privilege-elevation pattern where software may prompt a user for credentials through AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges and related /usr/libexec/security_authtrampoline activity. For leaders, the key issue is not just whether a prompt appears, but whether the organization can distinguish legitimate administrative workflows from suspicious elevation attempts before they become an incident response problem.
Executive priority
Prioritize this as a macOS endpoint visibility and privileged access assurance question. Security leaders should ask whether SOC teams can see credential-prompt-driven elevation activity, whether approved administrative tools are baselined, and whether incident responders have enough context to judge whether a privilege prompt was expected. This supports operational resilience, audit evidence around privileged activity, and better triage of endpoint events involving user-granted elevation.
Technical view
For SOC and detection engineering teams, validate coverage for macOS activity involving AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges API usage and invocation of /usr/libexec/security_authtrampoline. Because the ATT&CK object provides no formal detection logic, teams should treat this as a detection design requirement: correlate API or process activity, binary reputation or trust context, and the user prompt context. Baseline known administrative software and expected helpdesk or management workflows to reduce false positives.
Likely telemetry
- macOS endpoint process execution events, especially /usr/libexec/security_authtrampoline invocation
- Endpoint security or EDR telemetry showing parent-child process relationships around privilege prompts
- Application or binary reputation, signing, or trust metadata where available
- User/session context associated with credential prompts
- Local macOS authentication or authorization-related logs if collected
Detection direction
- Confirm that macOS telemetry includes process execution and parent process context for security_authtrampoline activity.
- Tune detections around correlation rather than single-event matching, because legitimate administrative tools may invoke credential prompts.
- Validate whether binary reputation, signing status, or approved software inventory can be joined to endpoint events.
- Review prompt context and user/session context to separate expected administrative activity from unusual elevation attempts.
- Document blind spots where API-level visibility is unavailable and only process telemetry exists.
Mitigation priorities
- Maintain an approved baseline of macOS administrative tools and expected privilege-elevation workflows.
- Restrict and monitor local administrative privilege usage consistent with organizational privileged access policy.
- Ensure macOS endpoints are covered by telemetry capable of supporting process, user, and binary-context correlation.
- Train support and operations teams to preserve context for unexpected credential prompts during incident triage.
- Use findings to strengthen compliance evidence for privileged activity monitoring where applicable.
Analyst notes and limits
ATT&CK identifies this as detection analytic AN1111 for macOS and describes detecting abuse of AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges via user credential prompts, commonly involving /usr/libexec/security_authtrampoline. No tactics, relationships, or detailed official detection logic were supplied, so this take emphasizes validation questions and telemetry requirements rather than a specific rule.
The supplied object has no relationship context and no official detection procedure beyond the description. This assessment does not establish active exploitation, attribution, impact, or existing coverage. Local macOS logging configuration, EDR capabilities, software inventory, and administrative workflow baselines are required to operationalize the analytic.
Analytic 1111
Detects abuse of AuthorizationExecuteWithPrivileges API to gain elevated privileges via user credential prompts, typically through invocation of /usr/libexec/security_authtrampoline. Detection involves correlation of API usage, binary reputation, and prompt context.
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 | a483922819c0… |
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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mitre-attack AN1111Open source URL
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