216.73.216.6

T1556: T1556

View on MITRE ATT&CK The MITRE Corporation · Published 11/02/2020 20:01 · Modified 27/03/2026 01:12

Essential information

MITRE technique ID
T1556
Confidence
100/100
Revoked
No
Published
11/02/2020 20:01
Modified
27/03/2026 01:12
Author / Source
The MITRE Corporation

Aliases

Modify Authentication Process

Platforms

windows macos linux Network Devices IaaS Office Suite Identity Provider SaaS

Description

Adversaries may modify authentication mechanisms and processes to access user credentials or enable otherwise unwarranted access to accounts. The authentication process is handled by mechanisms, such as the Local Security Authentication Server (LSASS) process and the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) on Windows, pluggable authentication modules (PAM) on Unix-based systems, and authorization plugins on MacOS systems, responsible for gathering, storing, and validating credentials. By modifying an authentication process, an adversary may be able to authenticate to a service or system without using [Valid Accounts](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078). Adversaries may maliciously modify a part of this process to either reveal credentials or bypass authentication mechanisms. Compromised credentials or access may be used to bypass access controls placed on various resources on systems within the network and may even be used for persistent access to remote systems and externally available services, such as VPNs, Outlook Web Access and remote desktop.

Kill chain phases

Kill chainPhase
mitre-attack credential-access
mitre-attack defense-evasion
mitre-attack persistence

Marking (TLP)

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

External references

Related entities

Intrusion sets, malware, reports, vulnerabilities, indicators and other entities linked to this technique.