H3XAOperational intelligence
Live analytical pictureEvidence before assessment
Threat intelligence / Technique

Boot or Logon Autostart Execution

Adversaries may configure system settings to automatically execute a program during system boot or logon to maintain persistence or gain higher-level privileges on compromised systems. Operating systems may have mechanisms for automatically running a program on system boot or account logon.(Citation: Microsoft Run Key)(Citation: MSDN Authentication Packages)(Citation: Microsoft TimeProvider)(Citation: Cylance Reg Persistence Sept 2013)(Citation: Linux Kernel Programming) These mechanisms may include automatically executing programs that are placed in specially designated directories or are referenced by repositories that store configuration information, such as the Windows Registry. An adversary may achieve the same goal by modifying or extending features of the kernel. Since some boot or logon autostart programs run with higher privileges, an adversary may leverage these to elevate privileges.

Technique
TypeTechnique
External ID—
First seen2026-08-14
Last seen2026-08-14

Confidence

—

Adversaries may configure system settings to automatically execute a program during system boot or logon to maintain persistence or gain higher-level privileges on compromised systems. Operating systems may have mechanisms for automatically running a program on system boot or account logon.(Citation: Microsoft Run Key)(Citation: MSDN Authentication Packages)(Citation: Microsoft TimeProvider)(Citation: Cylance Reg Persistence Sept 2013)(Citation: Linux Kernel Programming) These mechanisms may include automatically executing programs that are placed in specially designated directories or are referenced by repositories that store configuration information, such as the Windows Registry. An adversary may achieve the same goal by modifying or extending features of the kernel. Since some boot or logon autostart programs run with higher privileges, an adversary may leverage these to elevate privileges.

21 recorded

Relationships

mapped-to
from Run Software at Logon
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Active Setup
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Authentication Package
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Kernel Modules and Extensions
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Login Items
Technique
subtechnique-of
from LSASS Driver
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Port Monitors
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Print Processors
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Re-opened Applications
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Security Support Provider
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Shortcut Modification
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Time Providers
Technique
subtechnique-of
from Winlogon Helper DLL
Technique
subtechnique-of
from XDG Autostart Entries
Technique
uses
from APT42
Group
uses
from BoxCaon
Malware
uses
from Dtrack
Malware
uses
from Misdat
Malware
uses
from Mis-Type
Malware
uses
from xCaon
Malware
7 external

References

mitre-attack
T1547
open
Cylance Reg Persistence Sept 2013
https://web.archive.org/web/20160214140250/http://blog.cylance.com/windows-registry-persistence-part-2-the-run-keys-and-search-order
open
MSDN Authentication Packages
https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/desktop/aa374733.aspx
open
Microsoft Run Key
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/setupapi/run-and-runonce-registry-keys
open
Microsoft TimeProvider
https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/desktop/ms725475.aspx
open
Linux Kernel Programming
https://www.tldp.org/LDP/lkmpg/2.4/lkmpg.pdf
open
TechNet Autoruns
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902
open
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