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MITRE ATT&CK® Malware

S1146: MgBot

MgBot is a modular malware framework exclusively associated with Daggerfly operations since at least 2012. MgBot was developed in C++ and features a module design with multiple available plugins that have been under active development through 2024.[1][2][3]

EnterpriseS1146MalwareObject v1.0Modified
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Glexia's Take · Automated analysis

Security context for executives and security teams

Automation confidenceMedium

S1146: MgBot describes [MgBot](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1146) is a modular malware framework exclusively associated with [Daggerfly](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G1034) operations since at least 2012. [MgBot](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S1146) was developed in C++ and features a module design with multiple available plugins that have been under active development through 2024.(Citation: Szappanos MgBot 2014)(Citation: ESET EvasivePanda 2023)(Citation: Symantec Daggerfly 2024)

Executive priority

S1146: MgBot 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 S1146: MgBot 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 S1146: MgBot 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

MgBot

MgBot is a modular malware framework exclusively associated with Daggerfly operations since at least 2012. MgBot was developed in C++ and features a module design with multiple available plugins that have been under active development through 2024.[1][2][3]

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.

17 rows
DomainIDNameRelationship / procedure
EnterpriseT1056.001KeyloggingSub-technique

MgBot includes keylogger payloads focused on the QQ chat application.[2]CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1033System Owner/User Discovery

MgBot includes modules for identifying local users and administrators on victim machines.CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1087.002Domain AccountSub-technique

MgBot includes modules for collecting information on Active Directory domain accounts.CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1555Credentials from Password Stores

MgBot includes modules for stealing stored credentials from Outlook and Foxmail email client software.[2]CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1087.001Local AccountSub-technique

MgBot includes modules for identifying local administrator accounts on victim systems.CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1213.006DatabasesSub-technique

MgBot includes a module capable of stealing content from the Tencent QQ database storing user QQ message history on infected devices.[2]

EnterpriseT1555.003Credentials from Web BrowsersSub-technique

MgBot includes modules for stealing credentials from various browsers and applications, including Chrome, Opera, Firefox, Foxmail, QQBrowser, FileZilla, and WinSCP.[2]CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1005Data from Local System

MgBot includes modules for collecting files from local systems based on a given set of properties and filenames.[2]

EnterpriseT1025Data from Removable Media

MgBot includes modules capable of gathering information from USB thumb drives and CD-ROMs on the victim machine given a list of provided criteria.[2]

EnterpriseT1482Domain Trust Discovery

MgBot includes modules for collecting information on local domain users and permissions.CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1115Clipboard Data

MgBot can capture clipboard data.[2]CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1539Steal Web Session Cookie

MgBot includes modules that can steal cookies from Firefox, Chrome, and Edge web browsers.[2]

EnterpriseT1018Remote System Discovery

MgBot includes modules for performing ARP scans of local connected systems.CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1057Process Discovery

MgBot includes a module for establishing a process watchdog for itself, identifying if the MgBot process is still running.CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1046Network Service Discovery

MgBot includes modules for performing HTTP and server service scans.CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1123Audio Capture

MgBot can capture input and output audio streams from infected devices.[2]CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

EnterpriseT1003OS Credential Dumping

MgBot includes modules for dumping and capturing credentials from process memory.CitationSymantec Daggerfly 2023

Associated objects

Groups, software, and campaigns

GroupEnterprise

G1034: Daggerfly

Daggerfly is a People's Republic of China-linked APT entity active since at least 2012. Daggerfly has targeted individuals, government and NGO entities, and telecommunication companies in Asia and Africa. Daggerfly is associated with exclusive use of MgBot malware and is noted for several potential supply chain infection campaigns.[1][2][3][4]

Relationship explorer

All related ATT&CK context

uses · GroupG1034: DaggerflyEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1056.001: KeyloggingEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1033: System Owner/User DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1087.002: Domain AccountEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1555: Credentials from Password StoresEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1087.001: Local AccountEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1213.006: DatabasesEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1555.003: Credentials from Web BrowsersEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1005: Data from Local SystemEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1025: Data from Removable MediaEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1482: Domain Trust DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1115: Clipboard DataEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1539: Steal Web Session CookieEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1018: Remote System DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1057: Process DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1046: Network Service DiscoveryEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1123: Audio CaptureEnterpriseuses · TechniqueT1003: OS Credential DumpingEnterprise
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
1.0
Created
Modified
Raw hash
a6edd5b9cff8f3f2...
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases(2)
ReleaseBundle importedObject versionModifiedStatusRaw hash
19.21.0Current bundlea6edd5b9cff8…
19.11.0Older bundlea6edd5b9cff8…
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]
    Szappanos MgBot 2014

    Gabor Szappanos. (2014, February 3). Needle in a haystack. Retrieved July 25, 2024.

    Open source URL
  2. [2]
    ESET EvasivePanda 2023

    Facundo Muñoz. (2023, April 26). Evasive Panda APT group delivers malware via updates for popular Chinese software. Retrieved July 25, 2024.

    Open source URL
  3. [3]
    Symantec Daggerfly 2024

    Threat Hunter Team. (2024, July 23). Daggerfly: Espionage Group Makes Major Update to Toolset. Retrieved July 25, 2024.

    Open source URL
  4. [4]
    mitre-attackS1146
    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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