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T1134 Access Token Manipulation

Adversaries may modify access tokens to operate under a different user or system security context to perform actions and bypass access controls. Windows uses access tokens to determine the ownership of a running process. A user can manipulate access tokens to make a running process appear as though it is the child of a different process or belongs to someone other than the user that started the process. When this occurs, the process also takes on the security context associated with the new token.

An adversary can use built-in Windows API functions to copy access tokens from existing processes; this is known as token stealing. These token can then be applied to an existing process (i.e. Token Impersonation/Theft) or used to spawn a new process (i.e. Create Process with Token). An adversary must already be in a privileged user context (i.e. administrator) to steal a token. However, adversaries commonly use token stealing to elevate their security context from the administrator level to the SYSTEM level. An adversary can then use a token to authenticate to a remote system as the account for that token if the account has appropriate permissions on the remote system.6

Any standard user can use the runas command, and the Windows API functions, to create impersonation tokens; it does not require access to an administrator account. There are also other mechanisms, such as Active Directory fields, that can be used to modify access tokens.

Item Value
ID T1134
Sub-techniques T1134.001, T1134.002, T1134.003, T1134.004, T1134.005
Tactics TA0005, TA0004
Platforms Windows
Version 2.1
Created 14 December 2017
Last Modified 24 October 2025

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
S0622 AppleSeed AppleSeed can gain system level privilege by passing SeDebugPrivilege to the AdjustTokenPrivilege API.20
S1068 BlackCat BlackCat has the ability modify access tokens.3231
G0108 Blue Mockingbird Blue Mockingbird has used JuicyPotato to abuse the SeImpersonate token privilege to escalate from web application pool accounts to NT Authority\SYSTEM.35
C0017 C0017 During C0017, APT41 used a ConfuserEx obfuscated BADPOTATO exploit to abuse named-pipe impersonation for local NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM privilege escalation.36
S0625 Cuba Cuba has used SeDebugPrivilege and AdjustTokenPrivileges to elevate privileges.25
S0038 Duqu Duqu examines running system processes for tokens that have specific system privileges. If it finds one, it will copy the token and store it for later use. Eventually it will start new processes with the stored token attached. It can also steal tokens to acquire administrative privileges.23
S0363 Empire Empire can use PowerSploit’s Invoke-TokenManipulation to manipulate access tokens.14
G0037 FIN6 FIN6 has used has used Metasploit’s named-pipe impersonation technique to escalate privileges.34
S0666 Gelsemium Gelsemium can use token manipulation to bypass UAC on Windows7 systems.24
S0697 HermeticWiper HermeticWiper can use AdjustTokenPrivileges to grant itself privileges for debugging with SeDebugPrivilege, creating backups with SeBackupPrivilege, loading drivers with SeLoadDriverPrivilege, and shutting down a local system with SeShutdownPrivilege.1718
S0203 Hydraq Hydraq creates a backdoor through which remote attackers can adjust token privileges.27
S0607 KillDisk KillDisk has attempted to get the access token of a process by calling OpenProcessToken. If KillDisk gets the access token, then it attempt to modify the token privileges with AdjustTokenPrivileges.28
G0030 Lotus Blossom Lotus Blossom has retrieved process tokens for processes to adjust the privileges of the launch process or other items.33
S1060 Mafalda Mafalda can use AdjustTokenPrivileges() to elevate privileges.26
S0576 MegaCortex MegaCortex can enable SeDebugPrivilege and adjust token privileges.30
S0378 PoshC2 PoshC2 can use Invoke-TokenManipulation for manipulating tokens.15
S0194 PowerSploit PowerSploit’s Invoke-TokenManipulation Exfiltration module can be used to manipulate tokens.1011
S1242 Qilin Qilin can use an embedded Mimikatz module for token manipulation.16
S0446 Ryuk Ryuk has attempted to adjust its token privileges to have the SeDebugPrivilege.29
S1210 Sagerunex Sagerunex finds the explorer.exe process after execution and uses it to change the token of its executing thread.21
S0633 Sliver Sliver has the ability to manipulate user tokens on targeted Windows systems.1213
S0058 SslMM SslMM contains a feature to manipulate process privileges and tokens.22
S0562 SUNSPOT SUNSPOT modified its security token to grants itself debugging privileges by adding SeDebugPrivilege.19

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1026 Privileged Account Management Limit permissions so that users and user groups cannot create tokens. This setting should be defined for the local system account only. GPO: Computer Configuration > [Policies] > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment: Create a token object. 7 Also define who can create a process level token to only the local and network service through GPO: Computer Configuration > [Policies] > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment: Replace a process level token.8
M1018 User Account Management An adversary must already have administrator level access on the local system to make full use of this technique; be sure to restrict users and accounts to the least privileges they require.

References

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  3. Microsoft TechNet. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2017. ↩

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  5. Microsoft TechNet. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2017. ↩

  6. netbiosX. (2017, April 3). Token Manipulation. Retrieved April 21, 2017. ↩

  7. Brower, N., Lich, B. (2017, April 19). Create a token object. Retrieved December 19, 2017. ↩

  8. Brower, N., Lich, B. (2017, April 19). Replace a process level token. Retrieved December 19, 2017. ↩

  9. Microsoft TechNet. (n.d.). Runas. Retrieved April 21, 2017. ↩

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  19. CrowdStrike Intelligence Team. (2021, January 11). SUNSPOT: An Implant in the Build Process. Retrieved January 11, 2021. ↩

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  21. Symntec Threat Hunter Team. (2022, November 12). Billbug: State-sponsored Actor Targets Cert Authority, Government Agencies in Multiple Asian Countries. Retrieved March 15, 2025. ↩

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  23. Kaspersky Lab. (2015, June 11). The Duqu 2.0. Retrieved April 21, 2017. ↩

  24. Dupuy, T. and Faou, M. (2021, June). Gelsemium. Retrieved November 30, 2021. ↩

  25. Roccio, T., et al. (2021, April). Technical Analysis of Cuba Ransomware. Retrieved June 18, 2021. ↩

  26. SentinelLabs. (2022, September 22). Metador Technical Appendix. Retrieved April 4, 2023. ↩

  27. Lelli, A. (2010, January 11). Trojan.Hydraq. Retrieved February 20, 2018. ↩

  28. Gilbert Sison, Rheniel Ramos, Jay Yaneza, Alfredo Oliveira. (2018, January 15). KillDisk Variant Hits Latin American Financial Groups. Retrieved January 12, 2021. ↩

  29. Hanel, A. (2019, January 10). Big Game Hunting with Ryuk: Another Lucrative Targeted Ransomware. Retrieved May 12, 2020. ↩

  30. Del Fierro, C. Kessem, L.. (2020, January 8). From Mega to Giga: Cross-Version Comparison of Top MegaCortex Modifications. Retrieved February 15, 2021. ↩

  31. Brandt, Andrew. (2022, July 14). BlackCat ransomware attacks not merely a byproduct of bad luck. Retrieved December 20, 2022. ↩

  32. Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence. (2022, June 13). The many lives of BlackCat ransomware. Retrieved December 20, 2022. ↩

  33. Joey Chen, Cisco Talos. (2025, February 27). Lotus Blossom espionage group targets multiple industries with different versions of Sagerunex and hacking tools. Retrieved March 15, 2025. ↩

  34. McKeague, B. et al. (2019, April 5). Pick-Six: Intercepting a FIN6 Intrusion, an Actor Recently Tied to Ryuk and LockerGoga Ransomware. Retrieved April 17, 2019. ↩

  35. Lambert, T. (2020, May 7). Introducing Blue Mockingbird. Retrieved May 26, 2020. ↩

  36. Rufus Brown, Van Ta, Douglas Bienstock, Geoff Ackerman, John Wolfram. (2022, March 8). Does This Look Infected? A Summary of APT41 Targeting U.S. State Governments. Retrieved July 8, 2022. ↩