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Steal Web Session Cookie

An adversary may steal web application or service session cookies and use them to gain access to web applications or Internet services as an authenticated user without needing credentials. Web applications and services often use session cookies as an authentication token after a user has authenticated to a website.

Cookies are often valid for an extended period of time, even if the web application is not actively used. Cookies can be found on disk, in the process memory of the browser, and in network traffic to remote systems. Additionally, other applications on the targets machine might store sensitive authentication cookies in memory (e.g. apps which authenticate to cloud services). Session cookies can be used to bypasses some multi-factor authentication protocols.[1]

There are several examples of malware targeting cookies from web browsers on the local system.[2][3] Adversaries may also steal cookies by injecting malicious JavaScript content into websites or relying on User Execution by tricking victims into running malicious JavaScript in their browser.[4][5]

There are also open source frameworks such as Evilginx2 and Muraena that can gather session cookies through a malicious proxy (e.g., Adversary-in-the-Middle) that can be set up by an adversary and used in phishing campaigns.[6][7]

After an adversary acquires a valid cookie, they can then perform a Web Session Cookie technique to login to the corresponding web application.

ID: T1539
Sub-techniques:  No sub-techniques
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Tactic: Credential Access
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Platforms: Linux, Office Suite, SaaS, Windows, macOS
Contributors: Johann Rehberger; Menachem Goldstein; Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC)
Version: 1.4
Created: 08 October 2019
Last Modified: 14 October 2024
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Procedure Examples

ID Name Description
S0657 BLUELIGHT

BLUELIGHT can harvest cookies from Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome, and Naver Whale browsers.[8]
S0631 Chaes

Chaes has used a script that extracts the web session cookie and sends it to the C2 server.[9]

S0492 CookieMiner

CookieMiner can steal Google Chrome and Apple Safari browser cookies from the victim’s machine. [10]
S0568 EVILNUM

EVILNUM can harvest cookies and upload them to the C2 server.[11]
G0120 Evilnum

Evilnum can steal cookies and session information from browsers.[12]
S0531 Grandoreiro

Grandoreiro can steal the victim's cookies to use for duplicating the active session from another device.[13]
G1014 LuminousMoth

LuminousMoth has used an unnamed post-exploitation tool to steal cookies from the Chrome browser.[14]
S1146 MgBot

MgBot includes modules that can steal cookies from Firefox, Chrome, and Edge web browsers.[15]
S0650 QakBot

QakBot has the ability to capture web session cookies.[16][17]
S1148 Raccoon Stealer

Raccoon Stealer attempts to steal cookies and related information in browser history.[18]
G0034 Sandworm Team

Sandworm Team used information stealer malware to collect browser session cookies.[19]
G1015 Scattered Spider

Scattered Spider retrieves browser cookies via Raccoon Stealer.[20]
C0024 SolarWinds Compromise

During the SolarWinds Compromise, APT29 stole Chrome browser cookies by copying the Chrome profile directories of targeted users.[21]
S1140 Spica

Spica has the ability to steal cookies from Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge browsers.[22]
G1033 Star Blizzard

Star Blizzard has used EvilGinx to steal the session cookies of victims directed to phishing domains.[23]
S0467 TajMahal

TajMahal has the ability to steal web session cookies from Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, FireFox and RealNetworks applications.[2]
S0658 XCSSET

XCSSET uses scp to access the ~/Library/Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies file.[24]

Mitigations

ID Mitigation Description
M1047 Audit

Implement auditing for authentication activities and user logins to detect the use of stolen session cookies. Monitor for impossible travel scenarios and anomalous behavior that could indicate the use of compromised session tokens or cookies.
M1032 Multi-factor Authentication

A physical second factor key that uses the target login domain as part of the negotiation protocol will prevent session cookie theft through proxy methods.[25]

Implement Conditional Access policies with Token Protection to bind session tokens to their originating device and user. This reduces the risk of session cookie theft by ensuring that stolen tokens cannot be reused from unauthorized locations or devices.
M1021 Restrict Web-Based Content

Restrict or block web-based content that could be used to extract session cookies or credentials stored in browsers. Use browser security settings, such as disabling third-party cookies and restricting browser extensions, to limit the attack surface.
M1054 Software Configuration

Configure browsers or tasks to regularly delete persistent cookies.

Additionally, minimize the length of time a web cookie is viable to potentially reduce the impact of stolen cookies while also increasing the needed frequency of cookie theft attempts – providing defenders with additional chances at detection.[26] For example, use non-persistent cookies to limit the duration a session ID will remain on the web client cache where an attacker could obtain it.[27]
M1051 Update Software

Regularly update web browsers, password managers, and all related software to the latest versions. Keeping software up-to-date reduces the risk of vulnerabilities being exploited by attackers to extract stored credentials or session cookies.
M1017 User Training

Train users to identify aspects of phishing attempts where they're asked to enter credentials into a site that has the incorrect domain for the application they are logging into. Additionally, train users not to run untrusted JavaScript in their browser, such as by copying and pasting code or dragging and dropping bookmarklets.

Detection

ID Data Source Data Component Detects
DS0022 File File Access

Monitor for an attempt by a user to gain access to a network or computing resource, often by providing credentials to cloud service management consoles. Some cloud providers, such as AWS, provide distinct log events for login attempts to the management console.

Analytic 1 - Unexpected access to web session cookies files.

(index=security sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4663 ObjectName="\AppData\Roaming\\Cookies\" OR ObjectName="\AppData\Local\\Cookies\") OR(index=sysmon sourcetype="WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational" EventCode=11 TargetObject="\AppData\Roaming\\Cookies\" OR TargetObject="\AppData\Local\\Cookies\") OR(index=os sourcetype="linux_audit" (filepath="/home//.mozilla/firefox/.default-release/cookies.sqlite" OR filepath="/home//.config/google-chrome/Default/Cookies")) OR(index=os sourcetype="macos_secure" file_path="/Users//Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Cookies") OR(index=gsuite sourcetype="gsuite:admin" event_name="LOGIN" event_type="cookie_auth") OR(index=o365 sourcetype="o365:management:activity" Operation="UserLoginViaCookie")
DS0009 Process Process Access

Monitor for attempts by programs to inject into or dump browser process memory.

Analytic 1 - Unauthorized access or injection into browser processes.

(index=security sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4688 OR EventCode=4663) OR(index=sysmon sourcetype="WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational" EventCode=1 OR EventCode=10) OR(index=os sourcetype="linux_secure" action="execve" OR action="ptrace") OR(index=os sourcetype="macos_secure" event_type="execve" OR event_type="ptrace") OR(index=gsuite sourcetype="gsuite:admin" event_name="LOGIN" event_type="cookie_auth") OR(index=o365 sourcetype="o365:management:activity" Operation="UserLoginViaCookie")

References

  1. Rehberger, J. (2018, December). Pivot to the Cloud using Pass the Cookie. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  2. GReAT. (2019, April 10). Project TajMahal – a sophisticated new APT framework. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  3. Chen, Y., Hu, W., Xu, Z., et. al. (2019, January 31). Mac Malware Steals Cryptocurrency Exchanges’ Cookies. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  4. Tiago Pereira. (2023, November 2). Attackers use JavaScript URLs, API forms and more to scam users in popular online game “Roblox”. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  5. Brian Krebs. (2023, May 30). Discord Admins Hacked by Malicious Bookmarks. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  6. Gretzky, Kuba. (2019, April 10). Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  7. Orrù, M., Trotta, G.. (2019, September 11). Muraena. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  8. Cash, D., Grunzweig, J., Meltzer, M., Adair, S., Lancaster, T. (2021, August 17). North Korean APT InkySquid Infects Victims Using Browser Exploits. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  9. Salem, E. (2020, November 17). CHAES: Novel Malware Targeting Latin American E-Commerce. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  10. Chen, y., et al. (2019, January 31). Mac Malware Steals Cryptocurrency Exchanges’ Cookies. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  11. Adamitis, D. (2020, May 6). Phantom in the Command Shell. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  12. Porolli, M. (2020, July 9). More evil: A deep look at Evilnum and its toolset. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  13. Abramov, D. (2020, April 13). Grandoreiro Malware Now Targeting Banks in Spain. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  14. Lechtik, M, and etl. (2021, July 14). LuminousMoth APT: Sweeping attacks for the chosen few. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  1. Facundo Muñoz. (2023, April 26). Evasive Panda APT group delivers malware via updates for popular Chinese software. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  2. Sette, N. et al. (2020, June 4). Qakbot Malware Now Exfiltrating Emails for Sophisticated Thread Hijacking Attacks. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  3. Kuzmenko, A. et al. (2021, September 2). QakBot technical analysis. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  4. Pierre Le Bourhis, Quentin Bourgue, & Sekoia TDR. (2022, June 29). Raccoon Stealer v2 - Part 2: In-depth analysis. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  5. Billy Leonard. (2023, April 19). Ukraine remains Russia’s biggest cyber focus in 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  6. CISA. (2023, November 16). Cybersecurity Advisory: Scattered Spider (AA23-320A). Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  7. CrowdStrike. (2022, January 27). Early Bird Catches the Wormhole: Observations from the StellarParticle Campaign. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  8. Shields, W. (2024, January 18). Russian threat group COLDRIVER expands its targeting of Western officials to include the use of malware. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  9. CISA, et al. (2023, December 7). Russian FSB Cyber Actor Star Blizzard Continues Worldwide Spear-phishing Campaigns. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  10. Mac Threat Response, Mobile Research Team. (2020, August 13). The XCSSET Malware: Inserts Malicious Code Into Xcode Projects, Performs UXSS Backdoor Planting in Safari, and Leverages Two Zero-day Exploits. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  11. Gretzky, K.. (2018, July 26). Evilginx 2 - Next Generation of Phishing 2FA Tokens. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  12. Microsoft Incident Response. (2022, November 16). Token tactics: How to prevent, detect, and respond to cloud token theft. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  13. OWASP CheatSheets Series Team. (n.d.). Session Management Cheat Sheet. Retrieved December 26, 2023.