T1601: Modify System Image
Essential information
- MITRE technique ID
T1601- Confidence
- 100/100
- Revoked
- No
- Published
- 16/12/2025 19:38
- Modified
- 27/03/2026 01:11
- Author / Source
- The MITRE Corporation
Aliases
T1601
Platforms
Network Devices
Description
Adversaries may make changes to the operating system of embedded network devices to weaken defenses and provide new capabilities for themselves. On such devices, the operating systems are typically monolithic and most of the device functionality and capabilities are contained within a single file.
To change the operating system, the adversary typically only needs to affect this one file, replacing or modifying it. This can either be done live in memory during system runtime for immediate effect, or in storage to implement the change on the next boot of the network device.
Kill chain phases
| Kill chain | Phase |
|---|---|
| mitre-attack | defense-evasion |
Marking (TLP)
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