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MITRE ATT&CK® Malware

S0211: Linfo

Linfo is a rootkit trojan used by Elderwood to open a backdoor on compromised hosts. [1] [2]

EnterpriseS0211MalwareObject v1.1Modified
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Glexia's Take · Automated analysis

Security context for executives and security teams

Automation confidenceMedium

S0211: Linfo describes [Linfo](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0211) is a rootkit trojan used by [Elderwood](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0066) to open a backdoor on compromised hosts. (Citation: Symantec Elderwood Sept 2012) (Citation: Symantec Linfo May 2012)

Executive priority

S0211: Linfo is an official MITRE ATT&CK software. Glexia treats it as defensive behavior context for prioritizing monitoring, control validation, and response planning without using the object by itself as an attribution claim.

Technical view

Security teams should validate S0211: Linfo by reviewing the official ATT&CK relationships, mapped tactics (the mapped ATT&CK tactic context), supported platforms (Windows), and available local telemetry before making detection or mitigation decisions.

Likely telemetry

  • Official ATT&CK relationships and object metadata
  • Network, endpoint, and security-tool telemetry

Detection direction

  • Validate whether S0211: Linfo appears in your detection coverage and tabletop scenarios.
  • Use the object to align executive risk language with SOC, incident response, and detection engineering work.
  • Do not treat ATT&CK relationship context as attribution without corroborating evidence.

Mitigation priorities

  • Map the object to existing controls and identify missing telemetry or response ownership.
  • Prioritize mitigations that reduce exposure on the listed platforms and tactics.
  • Review adjacent ATT&CK relationships before changing policy, detections, or reporting language.
Additional notes and limits

Baseline Glexia take generated from the official MITRE ATT&CK STIX object, source hash, tactics, platforms, and detection fields. It is safe to replace with a richer model-generated take for the same source hash later.

This baseline take is source-grounded and schema-validated, but it does not include environment-specific telemetry, incident evidence, or threat-intelligence corroboration.

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Official MITRE ATT&CK definition

Linfo

Linfo is a rootkit trojan used by Elderwood to open a backdoor on compromised hosts. [1] [2]

View the same entry on attack.mitre.org (MITRE-hosted reference; in-page links above use the Glexia ATT&CK library.)

Glexia analysis

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.

ATT&CK relationship table

Techniques used

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.

9 rows
DomainIDNameRelationship / procedure
EnterpriseT1082System Information Discovery

Linfo creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can retrieve system information.[2]

EnterpriseT1008Fallback Channels

Linfo creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can change C2 servers.[2]

EnterpriseT1105Ingress Tool Transfer

Linfo creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can download files onto compromised hosts.[2]

EnterpriseT1083File and Directory Discovery

Linfo creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can list contents of drives and search for files.[2]

EnterpriseT1070.004File DeletionSub-technique

Linfo creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can delete files.[2]

EnterpriseT1029Scheduled Transfer

Linfo creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can change the frequency at which compromised hosts contact remote C2 infrastructure.[2]

EnterpriseT1059.003Windows Command ShellSub-technique

Linfo creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can start a remote shell.[2]

EnterpriseT1057Process Discovery

Linfo creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can retrieve a list of running processes.[2]

EnterpriseT1005Data from Local System

Linfo creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can obtain data from local systems.[2]

Associated objects

Groups, software, and campaigns

GroupEnterprise

G0066: Elderwood

Elderwood is a suspected Chinese cyber espionage group that was reportedly responsible for the 2009 Google intrusion known as Operation Aurora. [1] The group has targeted defense organizations, supply chain manufacturers, human rights and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and IT service providers. [2] [3]

Relationship explorer

All related ATT&CK context

uses · GroupG0066: ElderwoodEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1082: System Information DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1008: Fallback ChannelsEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1105: Ingress Tool TransferEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1083: File and Directory DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1070.004: File DeletionEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1029: Scheduled TransferEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1059.003: Windows Command ShellEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1057: Process DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1005: Data from Local SystemEnterprise
Change history

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.

ATT&CK release
19.2
Object version
1.1
Created
Modified
Raw hash
161585796446557a...
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases(2)
ReleaseBundle importedObject versionModifiedStatusRaw hash
19.21.1Current bundle161585796446…
19.11.1Older bundle161585796446…
Raw source

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.

Open mirrored raw JSONOpen MITRE-hosted copy
Source references

External references and citations

MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.

  1. [1]
    Symantec Elderwood Sept 2012

    O'Gorman, G., and McDonald, G.. (2012, September 6). The Elderwood Project. Retrieved November 17, 2024.

    Open source URL
  2. [2]
    Symantec Linfo May 2012

    Zhou, R. (2012, May 15). Backdoor.Linfo. Retrieved February 23, 2018.

    Open source URL
  3. [3]
    Linfo

    (Citation: Symantec Linfo May 2012)

  4. [4]
    mitre-attackS0211
    Open source URL
Source and licensing

Source: MITRE ATT&CK®. © 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. MITRE ATT&CK and ATT&CK are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. Glexia is not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE.

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