T1162: Login Item
MacOS provides the option to list specific applications to run when a user logs in. These applications run under the logged in user's context, and will be started every time the user logs in. Login items installed using the Service Management Framework are not visible in the System Preferences and can only be removed by the application that created them [1]. Users have direct control over login items installed using a shared file list which are also visible in System Preferences [1]. These login items are stored in the user's ~/Library/Preferences/ directory in a plist file called com.apple.loginitems.plist [2]. Some of these applications can open visible dialogs to the user, but they don’t all have to since there is an option to ‘Hide’ the window. If an adversary can register their own login item or modified an existing one, then they can use it to execute their code for a persistence mechanism each time the user logs in [3] [4]. The API method SMLoginItemSetEnabled can be used to set Login Items, but scripting languages like AppleScript can do this as well [1].
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Login Item
MacOS provides the option to list specific applications to run when a user logs in. These applications run under the logged in user's context, and will be started every time the user logs in. Login items installed using the Service Management Framework are not visible in the System Preferences and can only be removed by the application that created them [1]. Users have direct control over login items installed using a shared file list which are also visible in System Preferences [1]. These login items are stored in the user's ~/Library/Preferences/ directory in a plist file called com.apple.loginitems.plist [2]. Some of these applications can open visible dialogs to the user, but they don’t all have to since there is an option to ‘Hide’ the window. If an adversary can register their own login item or modified an existing one, then they can use it to execute their code for a persistence mechanism each time the user logs in [3] [4]. The API method SMLoginItemSetEnabled can be used to set Login Items, but scripting languages like AppleScript can do this as well [1].
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.
Related techniques
This mirrors the MITRE pattern of making group, software, campaign, and technique relationships scannable. Relationship notes come from mirrored ATT&CK relationship text when available.
| Domain | ID | Name | Relationship / procedure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | T1547.011 | Plist Modification Sub-technique | This object revoked by Plist Modification. |
All related ATT&CK context
Object version and sync metadata
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Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases (1)
| Release | Bundle imported | Object version | Modified | Status | Raw hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.1 | 1.1 | Current bundle Revoked | 7a443e3bb3c3… |
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]
Adding Login Items
Apple. (2016, September 13). Adding Login Items. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
Open source URL -
[2]
Methods of Mac Malware Persistence
Patrick Wardle. (2014, September). Methods of Malware Persistence on Mac OS X. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
Open source URL -
[3]
Malware Persistence on OS X
Patrick Wardle. (2015). Malware Persistence on OS X Yosemite. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
Open source URL -
[4]
OSX.Dok Malware
Thomas Reed. (2017, July 7). New OSX.Dok malware intercepts web traffic. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
Open source URL -
[5]
capec CAPEC-564Open source URL
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[6]
mitre-attack T1162Open source URL
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