T1037.005 Startup Items
sub-techniqueEnterpriseAdversaries may use startup items automatically executed at boot initialization to establish persistence. Startup items execute during the final phase of the boot process and contain shell scripts or other executable files along with configuration information used by the system to determine the execution order for all startup items. This is technically a deprecated technology (superseded by Launch Daemon), and thus the appropriate folder, <code>/Library/StartupItems</code> isn’t guaranteed to exist on the system by default, but does appear to exist by default on macOS Sierra. A startup item is a directory whose executable and configuration property list (plist), <code>StartupParameters.plist</code>, reside in the top-level directory. An adversary can create the appropriate folders/files in the StartupItems directory to register their own persistence mechanism. Additionally, since StartupItems run during the bootup phase of macOS, they will run as the elevated root user.
platforms
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tactics
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mitigations
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detected by (2)
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countered by (D3FEND)
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NIST CSF 2.0 — areas of relevance (Protect / Detect)
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- DE.CMContinuous Monitoringstrong · backed by 4 of 7 mapped controls
- PR.DSData Securitystrong · backed by 4 of 7 mapped controls
- ID.RARisk Assessmentmoderate · backed by 3 of 7 mapped controls
Derived from MITRE CTID (Apache-2.0) and the NIST 800-53 ↔ CSF crosswalk (public domain). Indicative relevance along the Protect/Detect axis — not a compliance assessment or coverage claim.
mitigating controls (7)
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software (1)
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Detected by (Sigma) (1)
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