AML.T0097
Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion

MITRE source definition

Adversaries may employ various means to detect and avoid virtualization and analysis environments. This may include changing behaviors based on the results of checks for the presence of artifacts indicative of a virtual machine environment (VME) or sandbox. If the adversary detects a VME, they may alter their malware to disengage from the victim or conceal the core functions of the implant. They may also search for VME artifacts before dropping secondary or additional payloads.

Adversaries may use several methods to accomplish Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion such as checking for security monitoring tools (e.g., Sysinternals, Wireshark, etc.) or other system artifacts associated with analysis or virtualization such as registry keys (e.g. substrings matching Vmware, VBOX, QEMU), environment variables (e.g. substrings matching VBOX, VMWARE, PARALLELS), NIC MAC addresses (e.g. prefixes 00-05-69 (VMWare) or 08-00-27 (VirtualBox)), running processes (e.g. vmware.exe, vboxservice.exe, qemu-ga.exe) [[research]].

Source modified 2026-05-27. Reproduced from the pinned ATLAS release; inline technique links resolve to local reference pages.

Parent, sub-techniques and ATT&CK references

• T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion — explicit ATLAS ATT&CK reference

Source-backed defensive context

MITRE mitigations

No explicit relationship in this pinned source.

MITRE case studies

• AML.CS0043 Malware Prototype with Embedded Prompt Injection · Incident

These are explicit source relationships, not independently reproduced incidents or validated detection coverage.

Simulation and telemetry boundary

This is a technique reference page, not a runnable simulation. No ATLAS-specific telemetry mapping, local attack execution or detector validation is asserted. MITRE maturity describes its source evidence, not a 1200km lab result.

For broader context—not technique-specific control mappings—see AI Security, AI Security Course, and detection-validation methodology.

Provenance and attribution

Immutable MITRE ATLAS source · Import provenance · Attribution and transformation notice · Apache License 2.0

Copyright 2021-2026 MITRE. Source text and explicit relationships are retained; navigation, formatting and local links are provided by 1200km.

• New Malware Embeds Prompt Injection to Evade AI Detection - Check Point Research