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T1518.001: T1518.001

View on MITRE ATT&CK The MITRE Corporation · Published 16/12/2025 19:38 · Modified 27/03/2026 01:11

Essential information

MITRE technique ID
T1518.001
Confidence
100/100
Revoked
No
Published
16/12/2025 19:38
Modified
27/03/2026 01:11
Author / Source
The MITRE Corporation

Aliases

Security Software Discovery

Platforms

windows macos linux IaaS

Description

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of security software, configurations, defensive tools, and sensors that are installed on a system or in a cloud environment. This may include things such as cloud monitoring agents and anti-virus. Adversaries may use the information from [Security Software Discovery](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1518/001) during automated discovery to shape follow-on behaviors, including whether or not the adversary fully infects the target and/or attempts specific actions. Example commands that can be used to obtain security software information are [netsh](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0108), `reg query` with [Reg](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0075), `dir` with [cmd](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0106), and [Tasklist](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0057), but other indicators of discovery behavior may be more specific to the type of software or security system the adversary is looking for. It is becoming more common to see macOS malware perform checks for LittleSnitch and KnockKnock software. Adversaries may also utilize the [Cloud API](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/009) to discover cloud-native security software installed on compute infrastructure, such as the AWS CloudWatch agent, Azure VM Agent, and Google Cloud Monitor agent. These agents may collect metrics and logs from the VM, which may be centrally aggregated in a cloud-based monitoring platform.

Kill chain phases

Kill chainPhase
mitre-attack discovery

Marking (TLP)

TLP:GREEN Copyright 2015-2025, The MITRE Corporation. MITRE ATT&CK and ATT&CK are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation.

External references