S0578: SUPERNOVA
Security context for executives and security teams
S0578: SUPERNOVA describes [SUPERNOVA](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0578) is an in-memory web shell written in .NET C#. It was discovered in November 2020 during the investigation of [APT29](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0016)'s SolarWinds cyber operation but determined to be unrelated. Subsequent analysis suggests [SUPERNOVA](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0578) may have been used by the China-based threat group SPIRAL.(Citation: Guidepoint SUPERNOVA Dec 2020)(Citation: Unit42 SUPERNOVA Dec 2020)(Citation: SolarWinds Advisory D...
Executive priority
S0578: SUPERNOVA 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 S0578: SUPERNOVA 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 S0578: SUPERNOVA 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.
SUPERNOVA
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.
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.
| Domain | ID | Name | Relationship / procedure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | T1071.001 | Web ProtocolsSub-technique | |
| Enterprise | T1203 | Exploitation for Client Execution | SUPERNOVA was installed via exploitation of a SolarWinds Orion API authentication bypass vulnerability (CVE-2020-10148).CitationCarnegie Mellon University Supernova Dec 2020CitationSplunk Supernova Jan 2021 |
| Enterprise | T1036.005 | Match Legitimate Resource Name or LocationSub-technique | |
| Enterprise | T1505.003 | Web ShellSub-technique | |
| Enterprise | T1027.013 | Encrypted/Encoded FileSub-technique |
All related ATT&CK context
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(3)
| Release | Bundle imported | Object version | Modified | Status | Raw hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20.0 | 1.1 | Older bundle | 409675a0ef36… | ||
| 19.2 | 1.1 | Current bundle | 409675a0ef36… | ||
| 19.1 | 1.1 | Older bundle | 409675a0ef36… |
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.
- [1]Guidepoint SUPERNOVA Dec 2020
Riley, W. (2020, December 1). SUPERNOVA SolarWinds .NET Webshell Analysis. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
Open source URL - [2]Unit42 SUPERNOVA Dec 2020
Tennis, M. (2020, December 17). SUPERNOVA: A Novel .NET Webshell. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
Open source URL - [3]SolarWinds Advisory Dec 2020
SolarWinds. (2020, December 24). SolarWinds Security Advisory. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
Open source URL - [4]CISA Supernova Jan 2021
CISA. (2021, January 27). Malware Analysis Report (AR21-027A). Retrieved February 22, 2021.
Open source URL - [5]Microsoft Analyzing Solorigate Dec 2020
MSTIC. (2020, December 18). Analyzing Solorigate, the compromised DLL file that started a sophisticated cyberattack, and how Microsoft Defender helps protect customers . Retrieved January 5, 2021.
Open source URL - [6]mitre-attackS0578Open source URL
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.