t1078-valid-accounts

name	T1078_valid-accounts
description	Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of existing accounts as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion.
category	configuration
version	18.1
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["mitre-attack","enterprise","t1078","defense-evasion","persistence","privilege-escalation","initial-access","containers","esxi","iaas","identity-provider","linux","macos","network-devices","office-suite","saas","windows"]
technique_id	T1078
tactic	defense-evasion
all_tactics	["defense-evasion","persistence","privilege-escalation","initial-access"]
platforms	["Containers","ESXi","IaaS","Identity Provider","Linux","macOS","Network Devices","Office Suite","SaaS","Windows"]
mitre_url	https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078
tech_stack	["containers","esxi","cloud","identity","linux","macos","network devices","office","saas","windows"]
cwe_ids	["CWE-693"]
chains_with	["T1078.001","T1078.002","T1078.003","T1078.004"]
prerequisites	[]
severity_boost	{"T1078.001":"Chain with T1078.001 for deeper attack path","T1078.002":"Chain with T1078.002 for deeper attack path","T1078.003":"Chain with T1078.003 for deeper attack path"}

T1078 Valid Accounts

High-Level Description

Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of existing accounts as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion. Compromised credentials 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, network devices, and remote desktop. Compromised credentials may also grant an adversary increased privilege to specific systems or access to restricted areas of the network. Adversaries may choose not to use malware or tools in conjunction with the legitimate access those credentials provide to make it harder to detect their presence.

In some cases, adversaries may abuse inactive accounts: for example, those belonging to individuals who are no longer part of an organization. Using these accounts may allow the adversary to evade detection, as the original account user will not be present to identify any anomalous activity taking place on their account.

The overlap of permissions for local, domain, and cloud accounts across a network of systems is of concern because the adversary may be able to pivot across accounts and systems to reach a high level of access (i.e., domain or enterprise administrator) to bypass access controls set within the enterprise.

Kill Chain Phase

• Defense Evasion (TA0005)
• Persistence (TA0003)
• Privilege Escalation (TA0004)
• Initial Access (TA0001)

Platforms: Containers, ESXi, IaaS, Identity Provider, Linux, macOS, Network Devices, Office Suite, SaaS, Windows

What to Check

• Identify if Valid Accounts technique is applicable to target environment
• Check Containers systems for indicators of Valid Accounts
• Check ESXi systems for indicators of Valid Accounts
• Check IaaS systems for indicators of Valid Accounts
• Verify mitigations are bypassed or absent (8 known mitigations)
• Assess detection coverage (1 detection strategies)

How to Test

Manual Testing

1. Identify Attack Surface: Determine if the target environment is susceptible to Valid Accounts by examining the target platforms (Containers, ESXi, IaaS).

2. : Review whether mitigations for T1078 are in place. If defenses are absent or misconfigured, this technique may be exploitable.