Threat intelligence / Technique

Time Providers

Adversaries may abuse time providers to execute DLLs when the system boots. The Windows Time service (W32Time) enables time synchronization across and within domains.(Citation: Microsoft W32Time Feb 2018) W32Time time providers are responsible for retrieving time stamps from hardware/network resources and outputting these values to other network clients.(Citation: Microsoft TimeProvider) Time providers are implemented as dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) that are registered in the subkeys of `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\`.(Citation: Microsoft TimeProvider) The time provider manager, directed by the service control manager, loads and starts time providers listed and enabled under this key at system startup and/or whenever parameters are changed.(Citation: Microsoft TimeProvider) Adversaries may abuse this architecture to establish persistence, specifically by creating a new arbitrarily named subkey pointing to a malicious DLL in the `DllName` value. Administrator privileges are required for time provider registration, though execution will run in context of the Local Service account.(Citation: Github W32Time Oct 2017)

Technique

TypeTechnique

External ID—

First seen2026-08-14

Last seen2026-08-14

Confidence

—

Adversaries may abuse time providers to execute DLLs when the system boots. The Windows Time service (W32Time) enables time synchronization across and within domains.(Citation: Microsoft W32Time Feb 2018) W32Time time providers are responsible for retrieving time stamps from hardware/network resources and outputting these values to other network clients.(Citation: Microsoft TimeProvider) Time providers are implemented as dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) that are registered in the subkeys of `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\`.(Citation: Microsoft TimeProvider) The time provider manager, directed by the service control manager, loads and starts time providers listed and enabled under this key at system startup and/or whenever parameters are changed.(Citation: Microsoft TimeProvider) Adversaries may abuse this architecture to establish persistence, specifically by creating a new arbitrarily named subkey pointing to a malicious DLL in the `DllName` value. Administrator privileges are required for time provider registration, though execution will run in context of the Local Service account.(Citation: Github W32Time Oct 2017)

4 recorded

Relationships

mitigates

from Restrict File and Directory Permissions

Mitigation

mitigates

from Restrict Registry Permissions

Mitigation

revoked-by

from Time Providers

Technique

subtechnique-of

to Boot or Logon Autostart Execution

Technique

6 external

References

mitre-attack

T1547.003

Github W32Time Oct 2017

https://github.com/scottlundgren/w32time

Microsoft W32Time May 2017

https://docs.microsoft.com/windows-server/networking/windows-time-service/windows-time-service-tools-and-settings

Microsoft W32Time Feb 2018

https://docs.microsoft.com/windows-server/networking/windows-time-service/windows-time-service-top

Microsoft TimeProvider

https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/desktop/ms725475.aspx

TechNet Autoruns

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902