t1055-003-thread-execution-hijacking

name	T1055.003_thread-execution-hijacking
description	Adversaries may inject malicious code into hijacked processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges.
category	configuration
version	18.1
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["mitre-attack","enterprise","t1055.003","defense-evasion","privilege-escalation","windows","sub-technique"]
technique_id	T1055.003
tactic	defense-evasion
all_tactics	["defense-evasion","privilege-escalation"]
platforms	["Windows"]
mitre_url	https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1055/003
tech_stack	["windows"]
cwe_ids	["CWE-693"]
chains_with	["T1055","T1055.001","T1055.002","T1055.004","T1055.005","T1055.008","T1055.009","T1055.011","T1055.012","T1055.013","T1055.014","T1055.015"]
prerequisites	["T1055"]
severity_boost	{"T1055":"Chain with T1055 for deeper attack path","T1055.001":"Chain with T1055.001 for deeper attack path","T1055.002":"Chain with T1055.002 for deeper attack path"}

T1055.003 Thread Execution Hijacking

Sub-technique of: T1055

High-Level Description

Adversaries may inject malicious code into hijacked processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. Thread Execution Hijacking is a method of executing arbitrary code in the address space of a separate live process.

Thread Execution Hijacking is commonly performed by suspending an existing process then unmapping/hollowing its memory, which can then be replaced with malicious code or the path to a DLL. A handle to an existing victim process is first created with native Windows API calls such as OpenThread. At this point the process can be suspended then written to, realigned to the injected code, and resumed via SuspendThread , VirtualAllocEx, WriteProcessMemory, SetThreadContext, then ResumeThread respectively.

This is very similar to Process Hollowing but targets an existing process rather than creating a process in a suspended state.

Running code in the context of another process may allow access to the process's memory, system/network resources, and possibly elevated privileges. Execution via Thread Execution Hijacking may also evade detection from security products since the execution is masked under a legitimate process.

Kill Chain Phase

• Defense Evasion (TA0005)
• Privilege Escalation (TA0004)

Platforms: Windows

What to Check

• Identify if Thread Execution Hijacking technique is applicable to target environment
• Check Windows systems for indicators of Thread Execution Hijacking
• Verify mitigations are bypassed or absent (1 known mitigations)
• Assess detection coverage (1 detection strategies)

How to Test

Atomic Red Team Tests

The following tests are from Atomic Red Team and provide actionable ways to test this technique:

Atomic Test 1: Thread Execution Hijacking

This test injects a MessageBox shellcode generated by msfvenom in Notepad.exe using Thread Execution Hijacking. When successful, a message box will appear with the "Atomic Red Team" caption after one or two seconds.

Supported Platforms: windows