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Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges. Exploitation of a software vulnerability occurs when an adversary takes advantage of a programming error in a program, service, or within the operating system software or kernel itself to execute adversary-controlled code. Security constructs such as permission levels will often hinder access to information and use of certain techniques, so adversaries will likely need to perform privilege escalation to include use of software exploitation to circumvent those restrictions.

When initially gaining access to a system, an adversary may be operating within a lower privileged process which will prevent them from accessing certain resources on the system. Vulnerabilities may exist, usually in operating system components and software commonly running at higher permissions, that can be exploited to gain higher levels of access on the system. This could enable someone to move from unprivileged or user level permissions to SYSTEM or root permissions depending on the component that is vulnerable. This could also enable an adversary to move from a virtualized environment, such as within a virtual machine or container, onto the underlying host. This may be a necessary step for an adversary compromising an endpoint system that has been properly configured and limits other privilege escalation methods.

Adversaries may bring a signed vulnerable driver onto a compromised machine so that they can exploit the vulnerability to execute code in kernel mode. This process is sometimes referred to as Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD).[1][2] Adversaries may include the vulnerable driver with files delivered during Initial Access or download it to a compromised system via Ingress Tool Transfer or Lateral Tool Transfer.

ID: T1068
Sub-techniques:  No sub-techniques
ⓘ
Tactic: Privilege Escalation
ⓘ
Platforms: Containers, Linux, Windows, macOS
Contributors: David Tayouri; Idan Revivo, @idanr86, Team Nautilus Aqua Security; Joas Antonio dos Santos, @C0d3Cr4zy, Inmetrics; Yaniv Agman, @AgmanYaniv, Team Nautilus Aqua Security
Version: 1.6
Created: 31 May 2017
Last Modified: 24 October 2025
Version Permalink

Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
G0007 APT28

APT28 has exploited CVE-2014-4076, CVE-2015-2387, CVE-2015-1701, CVE-2017-0263, and CVE-2022-38028 to escalate privileges.[3][4][5][6]
G0016 APT29

APT29 has exploited CVE-2021-36934 to escalate privileges on a compromised host.[7]
G0050 APT32

APT32 has used CVE-2016-7255 to escalate privileges.[8]
G0064 APT33

APT33 has used a publicly available exploit for CVE-2017-0213 to escalate privileges on a local system.[9]
G1002 BITTER

BITTER has exploited CVE-2021-1732 for privilege escalation.[10][11]
G1043 BlackByte

BlackByte has exploited CVE-2024-37085 in VMWare ESXi software for authentication bypass and subsequent privilege escalation.[12]
S1181 BlackByte 2.0 Ransomware

BlackByte 2.0 Ransomware exploits a vulnerability in the RTCore64.sys driver (CVE-2019-16098) to enable privilege escalation and defense evasion when run as a service.[13]
S0484 Carberp

Carberp has exploited multiple Windows vulnerabilities (CVE-2010-2743, CVE-2010-3338, CVE-2010-4398, CVE-2008-1084) and a .NET Runtime Optimization vulnerability for privilege escalation.[14][15]
G0080 Cobalt Group

Cobalt Group has used exploits to increase their levels of rights and privileges.[16]
S0154 Cobalt Strike

Cobalt Strike can exploit vulnerabilities such as MS14-058.[17][18]
S0050 CosmicDuke

CosmicDuke attempts to exploit privilege escalation vulnerabilities CVE-2010-0232 or CVE-2010-4398.[19]
S1247 Embargo

Embargo has leveraged MS4Killer to deliver a vulnerable driver to the victim device, sometimes referred to as Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD).[20] Embargo has utilized the vulnerable driver probmon.sys version 3.0.0.4 which had a revoked certificated from "ITM System Co.,LTD."[20]
S0363 Empire

Empire can exploit vulnerabilities such as MS16-032 and MS16-135.[21]
G0037 FIN6

FIN6 has used tools to exploit Windows vulnerabilities in order to escalate privileges. The tools targeted CVE-2013-3660, CVE-2011-2005, and CVE-2010-4398, all of which could allow local users to access kernel-level privileges.[22]
G0061 FIN8

FIN8 has exploited the CVE-2016-0167 local vulnerability.[23][24]
G0125 HAFNIUM

HAFNIUM has targeted unpatched applications to elevate access in targeted organizations.[25]
S0601 Hildegard

Hildegard has used the BOtB tool which exploits CVE-2019-5736.[26]

S0260 InvisiMole

InvisiMole has exploited CVE-2007-5633 vulnerability in the speedfan.sys driver to obtain kernel mode privileges.[1]
S0044 JHUHUGIT

JHUHUGIT has exploited CVE-2015-1701 and CVE-2015-2387 to escalate privileges.[27][28]
G1004 LAPSUS$

LAPSUS$ has exploited unpatched vulnerabilities on internally accessible servers including JIRA, GitLab, and Confluence for privilege escalation.[29]
C0049 Leviathan Australian Intrusions

Leviathan exploited software vulnerabilities in victim environments to escalate privileges during Leviathan Australian Intrusions.[30]
G1019 MoustachedBouncer

MoustachedBouncer has exploited CVE-2021-1732 to execute malware components with elevated rights.[31]
G0049 OilRig

OilRig has exploited the Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege vulnerability, CVE-2024-30088.[32]
S0664 Pandora

Pandora can use CVE-2017-15303 to bypass Windows Driver Signature Enforcement (DSE) protection and load its driver.[33]
G0068 PLATINUM

PLATINUM has leveraged a zero-day vulnerability to escalate privileges.[34]
S0378 PoshC2

PoshC2 contains modules for local privilege escalation exploits such as CVE-2016-9192 and CVE-2016-0099.[35]
S0654 ProLock

ProLock can use CVE-2019-0859 to escalate privileges on a compromised host.[36]
S0125 Remsec

Remsec has a plugin to drop and execute vulnerable Outpost Sandbox or avast! Virtualization drivers in order to gain kernel mode privileges.[37]
G1015 Scattered Spider

Scattered Spider has deployed a malicious kernel driver through exploitation of CVE-2015-2291 in the Intel Ethernet diagnostics driver for Windows (iqvw64.sys).[38]
C0045 ShadowRay

During ShadowRay, threat actors downloaded a privilege escalation payload to gain root access.[39]
S0623 Siloscape

Siloscape has leveraged a vulnerability in Windows containers to perform an Escape to Host.[40]
S0603 Stuxnet

Stuxnet used MS10-073 and an undisclosed Task Scheduler vulnerability to escalate privileges on local Windows machines.[41]
G0027 Threat Group-3390

Threat Group-3390 has used CVE-2014-6324 and CVE-2017-0213 to escalate privileges.[42][43]
G0131 Tonto Team

Tonto Team has exploited CVE-2019-0803 and MS16-032 to escalate privileges.[44]
G0010 Turla

Turla has exploited vulnerabilities in the VBoxDrv.sys driver to obtain kernel mode privileges.[2]
G1048 UNC3886

UNC3886 has exploited zero-day vulnerability CVE-2023-20867 to enable execution of privileged commands across Windows, Linux, and PhotonOS (vCenter) guest VMs.[45]
G1017 Volt Typhoon

Volt Typhoon has gained initial access by exploiting privilege escalation vulnerabilities in the operating system or network services.[46]
G0107 Whitefly

Whitefly has used an open-source tool to exploit a known Windows privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2016-0051) on unpatched computers.[47]

S0176 Wingbird

Wingbird exploits CVE-2016-4117 to allow an executable to gain escalated privileges.[48]
S0658 XCSSET

XCSSET has used a zero-day exploit in the ssh launchdaemon to elevate privileges and bypass SIP.[49]
S1151 ZeroCleare

ZeroCleare has used a vulnerable signed VBoxDrv driver to bypass Microsoft Driver Signature Enforcement (DSE) protections and subsequently load the unsigned RawDisk driver.[50]
G0128 ZIRCONIUM

ZIRCONIUM has exploited CVE-2017-0005 for local privilege escalation.[51]
S0672 Zox

Zox has the ability to leverage local and remote exploits to escalate privileges.[52]

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1048 Application Isolation and Sandboxing

Make it difficult for adversaries to advance their operation through exploitation of undiscovered or unpatched vulnerabilities by using sandboxing. Other types of virtualization and application microsegmentation may also mitigate the impact of some types of exploitation. Risks of additional exploits and weaknesses in these systems may still exist. [53]
M1038 Execution Prevention

Consider blocking the execution of known vulnerable drivers that adversaries may exploit to execute code in kernel mode. Validate driver block rules in audit mode to ensure stability prior to production deployment.[54]
M1050 Exploit Protection

Security applications that look for behavior used during exploitation such as Windows Defender Exploit Guard (WDEG) and the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) can be used to mitigate some exploitation behavior. [55] Control flow integrity checking is another way to potentially identify and stop a software exploit from occurring. [56] Many of these protections depend on the architecture and target application binary for compatibility and may not work for software components targeted for privilege escalation.
M1019 Threat Intelligence Program

Develop a robust cyber threat intelligence capability to determine what types and levels of threat may use software exploits and 0-days against a particular organization.
M1051 Update Software

Update software regularly by employing patch management for internal enterprise endpoints and servers.

Detection Strategy

ID Name Analytic ID Analytic Description
DET0514 Detection Strategy for Exploitation for Privilege Escalation AN1419

Detects exploitation attempts targeting vulnerable kernel drivers or OS components, often followed by unusual process or token behavior.
AN1420

Detects escalation via vulnerable setuid binaries or kernel modules, often chained with unusual access to /proc/kallsyms or /dev/kmem.
AN1421

Detects use of vulnerable kernel extensions or entitlements abused via setuid or AppleScript injection chains.
AN1422

Detects container breakout behavior via exploitation (e.g., DirtyPipe, CVE-2022-0847), followed by host OS interaction or escalated capability assignment.

References

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