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M1045 Code Signing

Enforce binary and application integrity with digital signature verification to prevent untrusted code from executing.

Item Value
ID M1045
Version 1.1
Created 11 June 2019
Last Modified 20 May 2020
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Techniques Addressed by Mitigation

Domain ID Name Use
enterprise T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Where possible, only permit execution of signed scripts.
enterprise T1059.001 PowerShell Set PowerShell execution policy to execute only signed scripts.
enterprise T1059.002 AppleScript Require that all AppleScript be signed by a trusted developer ID before being executed - this will prevent random AppleScript code from executing.3 This subjects AppleScript code to the same scrutiny as other .app files passing through Gatekeeper.
enterprise T1554 Compromise Client Software Binary Ensure all application component binaries are signed by the correct application developers.
enterprise T1543 Create or Modify System Process Enforce registration and execution of only legitimately signed service drivers where possible.
enterprise T1543.003 Windows Service Enforce registration and execution of only legitimately signed service drivers where possible.
enterprise T1546 Event Triggered Execution -
enterprise T1546.006 LC_LOAD_DYLIB Addition Enforce that all binaries be signed by the correct Apple Developer IDs.
enterprise T1546.013 PowerShell Profile Enforce execution of only signed PowerShell scripts. Sign profiles to avoid them from being modified.
enterprise T1525 Implant Internal Image Several cloud service providers support content trust models that require container images be signed by trusted sources.21
enterprise T1036 Masquerading Require signed binaries.
enterprise T1036.001 Invalid Code Signature Require signed binaries.
enterprise T1036.005 Match Legitimate Name or Location Require signed binaries and images.
enterprise T1601 Modify System Image Many vendors provide digitally signed operating system images to validate the integrity of the software used on their platform. Make use of this feature where possible in order to prevent and/or detect attempts by adversaries to compromise the system image. 4
enterprise T1601.001 Patch System Image Many vendors provide digitally signed operating system images to validate the integrity of the software used on their platform. Make use of this feature where possible in order to prevent and/or detect attempts by adversaries to compromise the system image. 4
enterprise T1601.002 Downgrade System Image Many vendors provide digitally signed operating system images to validate the integrity of the software used on their platform. Make use of this feature where possible in order to prevent and/or detect attempts by adversaries to compromise the system image. 4
enterprise T1505 Server Software Component Ensure all application component binaries are signed by the correct application developers.
enterprise T1505.001 SQL Stored Procedures Ensure all application component binaries are signed by the correct application developers.
enterprise T1505.002 Transport Agent Ensure all application component binaries are signed by the correct application developers.
enterprise T1505.004 IIS Components Ensure IIS DLLs and binaries are signed by the correct application developers.
enterprise T1204 User Execution -
enterprise T1204.003 Malicious Image Utilize a trust model such as Docker Content Trust with digital signatures to ensure runtime verification of the integrity and publisher of specific image tags.12

References

  1. Docker. (2019, October 10). Content trust in Docker. Retrieved October 16, 2019. ↩↩

  2. Microsoft. (2019, September 5). Content trust in Azure Container Registry. Retrieved October 16, 2019. ↩↩

  3. Steven Sande. (2013, December 23). AppleScript and Automator gain new features in OS X Mavericks. Retrieved September 21, 2018. ↩

  4. Cisco. (n.d.). Cisco IOS Software Integrity Assurance - Deploy Signed IOS. Retrieved October 21, 2020. ↩↩↩