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Validation disclaimer: TTP overlap, actor similarity, generated summaries, and coverage findings are investigation leads, not attribution proof or operational validation without analyst review.

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T1082 · discovery · 54 actors · 11 correlated reports

System Information Discovery

An adversary may attempt to get detailed information about the operating system and hardware, including version, patches, hotfixes, service packs, and architecture. Adversaries may use the information from System Information Discovery during automated discovery to shape follow-on behaviors, including whether or not the adversary fully infects the target and/or attempts specific actions. Tools such as Systeminfo can be used to gather detailed system information. If running with privileged access, a breakdown of system data can be gathered through the systemsetup configuration tool on macOS. As an example, adversaries with user-level access can execute the df -aH command to obtain currently mounted disks and associated freely available space. Adversaries may also leverage a Network Device CLI on network devices to gather detailed system information (e.g. show version). System Information Discovery combined with information gathered from other forms of discovery and reconnaissance can drive payload development and concealment. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud providers such as AWS, GCP, and Azure allow access to instance and virtual machine information via APIs. Successful authenticated API calls can return data such as the operating system platform and status of a particular instance or the model view of a virtual machine.

Open detection, hunting, mitigation, and evidence workspace

Detection logic

System and network discovery techniques normally occur throughout an operation as an adversary learns the environment. Data and events should not be viewed in isolation, but as part of a chain of behavior that could lead to other activities based on the information obtained. Monitor processes and command-line arguments for actions that could be taken to gather system and network information. Remote access tools with built-in features may interact directly with the Windows API to gather information. Further, Network Device CLI commands may also be used to gather detailed system information with built-in features native to the network device platform. Monitor CLI activity for unexpected or unauthorized use commands being run by non-standard users from non-standard locations. Information may also be acquired through Windows system management tools such as Windows Management Instrumentation and PowerShell. In cloud-based systems, native logging can be used to identify access to certain APIs and dashboards that may contain system information. Depending on how the environment is used, that data alone may not be useful due to benign use during normal operations.

Observed actors

Correlated CTI and IR reports

Cyber Knowledge context

Use these routes to move from the ATT&CK behavior into explanation, implementation, evidence handling, validation, and defensive operations. Relevance is generated from explicit identifiers/names and governed topic mappings; it is not attribution evidence.

MITRE mitigations

No ATT&CK mitigation relationship is published for this technique. Apply risk-based controls and verify scope.

MITRE detection strategies and analytics

DET0525 · System Discovery via Native and Remote Utilities
  • AN1452 · Analytic 1452 — Detection of processes executing system environment inspection operations followed by access to OS configuration APIs or registry locations that expose OS version, architecture, patch level, or hardware characteristics. Defenders observe process execution retrieving system configuration metadata immediately after process startup.
  • AN1453 · Analytic 1453 — Execution of system enumeration commands such as `uname`, `df`, `uptime`, `hostname`, `lscpu`, and `cat /etc/os-release` through local terminal or scripts.
  • AN1454 · Analytic 1454 — Execution of system info utilities like `systemsetup`, `sw_vers`, `uname`, or `sysctl` by terminal or scripted processes.
  • AN1455 · Analytic 1455 — Execution of `esxcli system hostname get`, `esxcli system version get`, or `esxcli hardware` commands through SSH or local shell.
  • AN1456 · Analytic 1456 — Use of cloud API calls (e.g., AWS EC2 DescribeInstances, Azure VM Inventory) to enumerate system configurations across assets.
  • AN1457 · Analytic 1457 — Execution of `show version`, `show hardware`, or `show system` commands through CLI via SSH or console.
MITRE detection source

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