Techniques › T1555 › T1555.005
T1555.005 Password Managers
credential access — Linux, macOS, Windows · attack.mitre.org · JSON
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MITRE detection strategy
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analytics
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Sigma rules tagged attack.t1555.005
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KEV CVEs mapped here
<p>Adversaries may acquire user credentials from third-party password managers. Password managers are applications designed to store user credentials, normally in an encrypted database. Credentials are typically accessible after a user provides a master password that unlocks the database. After the database is unlocked, these credentials may be copied to memory. These databases can be stored as files on disk.</p><p>Adversaries may acquire user credentials from password managers by extracting the master password and/or plain-text credentials from memory. Adversaries may extract credentials from memory via Exploitation for Credential Access. Adversaries may also try brute forcing via Password Guessing to obtain the master password of a password manager.</p>
KEV CVEs mapped to this technique · CTID Mappings Explorer
None. No KEV entry in the public mapping names this technique. Given that 74.7% of KEV has no mapping at all, this says more about the mapping than about the technique.
Detection strategy · ATT&CK Enterprise v19.2
- DET0597 Detect Unauthorized Access to Password Managers v1.0
AN1641 WindowsDetection of suspicious access to password manager processes (KeePass, 1Password, LastPass, Bitwarden) through abnormal process injection, memory reads, or command-line usage of vault-related DLLs. Correlates process creation with OS API calls and file access to vault databases (.kdbx, .opvault, .ldb).Tunable:
PasswordManagerBinariesTimeWindowUserContextAN1642 LinuxSuspicious access to password manager vaults (KeePassXC, gnome-keyring, pass) via memory scraping or unauthorized file reads. Detects unusual command execution involving gdb/strace attached to password manager processes.Tunable:VaultFilePathsTimeWindowAN1643 macOSDetection of password manager database access (1Password .opvault, LastPass caches, KeePass .kdbx) outside expected parent processes. Identifies memory scraping attempts via suspicious API calls or tools attaching to password manager processes.macos:unifiedlogsecurity OR injection attempts into 1Password OR LastPass→ DC0032 Process CreationTunable:VaultFileExtensionsParentProcessWhitelist
Sigma rules · SigmaHQ da9bb07d64, tag attack.t1555.005
Author: Timon Hackenjos
· 2022-04-22 (modified 2023-05-05) · logsource: product=windows category=create_remote_thread · 77564cc2-7382-438b-a7f6-395c2ae53b9a
Detects remote thread creation in "KeePass.exe" which could indicates potential password dumping activity
Rules tagged at the parent level (attack.t1555) 8
These target the parent technique, not this sub-technique specifically. Listed for completeness, not counted as coverage.
Author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
· 2021-07-14 (modified 2022-07-14) · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 58f4ea09-0fc2-4520-ba18-b85c540b0eaf
Detects a suspicious process pattern which could be a sign of an exploited Serv-U service
Author: frack113
· 2021-12-20 (modified 2022-12-25) · logsource: product=windows category=ps_script · 603c6630-5225-49c1-8047-26c964553e0e
Adversaries may search for common password storage locations to obtain user credentials.
Passwords are stored in several places on a system, depending on the operating system or application holding the credentials.
Author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
· 2018-12-19 (modified 2023-02-04) · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · 7679d464-4f74-45e2-9e01-ac66c5eb041a
Detects the execution of SecurityXploded Tools
Author: Nounou Mbeiri, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
· 2024-06-26 · logsource: product=windows category=file_event · 7892ec59-c5bb-496d-8968-e5d210ca3ac4
Detects file names with specific patterns seen generated and used by tools such as Mimikatz and DSInternals related to exported or stolen DPAPI backup keys and certificates.
Author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel
· 2023-12-04 · logsource: product=windows category=ps_script · 851fd622-b675-4d26-b803-14bc7baa517a
Detects scriptblock text keywords indicative of potential usge of the tool WinPwn. A tool for Windows and Active Directory reconnaissance and exploitation.
Author: frack113
· 2021-12-20 (modified 2022-12-25) · logsource: product=windows category=ps_script · 99c49d9c-34ea-45f7-84a7-4751ae6b2cbc
Adversaries may search for common password storage locations to obtain user credentials.
Passwords are stored in several places on a system, depending on the operating system or application holding the credentials.
Author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)
· 2025-10-21 · logsource: product=aws service=cloudtrail · a840e606-7c8c-4684-9bc1-eb6b6155127f
Detects the execution of TruffleHog, a popular open-source tool used for scanning repositories for secrets and sensitive information, within an AWS environment.
It has been reported to be used by threat actors for credential harvesting. All detections should be investigated to determine if the usage is authorized by security teams or potentially malicious.
Author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel
· 2023-12-04 · logsource: product=windows category=process_creation · d557dc06-62e8-4468-a8e8-7984124908ce
Detects commandline keywords indicative of potential usge of the tool WinPwn. A tool for Windows and Active Directory reconnaissance and exploitation.