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T1056.002 GUI Input Capture

Adversaries may mimic common operating system GUI components to prompt users for credentials with a seemingly legitimate prompt. When programs are executed that need additional privileges than are present in the current user context, it is common for the operating system to prompt the user for proper credentials to authorize the elevated privileges for the task (ex: Bypass User Account Control).

Adversaries may mimic this functionality to prompt users for credentials with a seemingly legitimate prompt for a number of reasons that mimic normal usage, such as a fake installer requiring additional access or a fake malware removal suite.5 This type of prompt can be used to collect credentials via various languages such as AppleScript132 and PowerShell.142 On Linux systems adversaries may launch dialog boxes prompting users for credentials from malicious shell scripts or the command line (i.e. Unix Shell).2

Adversaries may also mimic common software authentication requests, such as those from browsers or email clients. This may also be paired with user activity monitoring (i.e., Browser Information Discovery and/or Application Window Discovery) to spoof prompts when users are naturally accessing sensitive sites/data.

Item Value
ID T1056.002
Sub-techniques T1056.001, T1056.002, T1056.003, T1056.004
Tactics TA0009, TA0006
Platforms Linux, Windows, macOS
Version 1.3
Created 11 February 2020
Last Modified 24 October 2025

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
S0482 Bundlore Bundlore prompts the user for their credentials.11
S0274 Calisto Calisto presents an input prompt asking for the user’s login and password.9
S1153 Cuckoo Stealer
Cuckoo Stealer has captured passwords by prompting victims with a “macOS needs to access System Settings” GUI window.15
S0281 Dok Dok prompts the user for credentials.7
G0085 FIN4 FIN4 has presented victims with spoofed Windows Authentication prompts to collect their credentials.1918
S0278 iKitten iKitten prompts the user for their credentials.7
S0276 Keydnap Keydnap prompts the users for credentials.10
S0455 Metamorfo Metamorfo has displayed fake forms on top of banking sites to intercept credentials from victims.8
S1122 Mispadu Mispadu can monitor browser activity for online banking actions and display full-screen overlay images to block user access to the intended site or present additional data fields.1213
S0279 Proton Proton prompts users for their credentials.7
G1039 RedCurl RedCurl prompts the user for credentials through a Microsoft Outlook pop-up.1617
S0692 SILENTTRINITY SILENTTRINITY’s credphisher.py module can prompt a current user for their credentials.6
S0658 XCSSET XCSSET prompts the user to input credentials using a native macOS dialog box leveraging the system process /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/MacOS/SafariForWebKitDevelopment.14

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1017 User Training Use user training as a way to bring awareness and raise suspicion for potentially malicious events and dialog boxes (ex: Office documents prompting for credentials).

References

  1. Foss, G. (2014, October 3). Do You Trust Your Computer?. Retrieved December 17, 2018. ↩↩

  2. Johann Rehberger. (2021, April 18). Spoofing credential dialogs on macOS Linux and Windows. Retrieved August 19, 2021. ↩↩↩

  3. Marc-Etienne M.Leveille. (2016, July 6). New OSX/Keydnap malware is hungry for credentials. Retrieved July 3, 2017. ↩

  4. Nelson, M. (2015, January 21). Phishing for Credentials: If you want it, just ask!. Retrieved December 17, 2018. ↩

  5. Sergei Shevchenko. (2015, June 4). New Mac OS Malware Exploits Mackeeper. Retrieved July 3, 2017. ↩

  6. Salvati, M. (2019, August 6). SILENTTRINITY Modules. Retrieved March 24, 2022. ↩

  7. Patrick Wardle. (n.d.). Mac Malware of 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2018. ↩↩↩

  8. Sierra, E., Iglesias, G.. (2018, April 24). Metamorfo Campaigns Targeting Brazilian Users. Retrieved July 30, 2020. ↩

  9. Pantig, J. (2018, July 30). OSX.Calisto. Retrieved September 7, 2018. ↩

  10. Patrick Wardle. (2017, January 1). Mac Malware of 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2018. ↩

  11. Sushko, O. (2019, April 17). macOS Bundlore: Mac Virus Bypassing macOS Security Features. Retrieved June 30, 2020. ↩

  12. Pedro Tavares (Segurança Informática). (2020, September 15). Threat analysis: The emergent URSA trojan impacts many countries using a sophisticated loader. Retrieved March 13, 2024. ↩

  13. SCILabs. (2021, December 23). Cyber Threat Profile Malteiro. Retrieved March 13, 2024. ↩

  14. Mac Threat Response, Mobile Research Team. (2020, August 13). The XCSSET Malware: Inserts Malicious Code Into Xcode Projects, Performs UXSS Backdoor Planting in Safari, and Leverages Two Zero-day Exploits. Retrieved October 5, 2021. ↩

  15. Kohler, A. and Lopez, C. (2024, April 30). Malware: Cuckoo Behaves Like Cross Between Infostealer and Spyware. Retrieved August 20, 2024. ↩

  16. Group-IB. (2020, August). RedCurl: The Pentest You Didn’t Know About. Retrieved August 9, 2024. ↩

  17. Group-IB. (2021, November). RedCurl: The Awakening. Retrieved August 14, 2024. ↩

  18. Vengerik, B. & Dennesen, K.. (2014, December 5). Hacking the Street? FIN4 Likely Playing the Market. Retrieved January 15, 2019. ↩

  19. Vengerik, B. et al.. (2014, December 5). Hacking the Street? FIN4 Likely Playing the Market. Retrieved December 17, 2018. ↩