CAPEC-533: Malicious Manual Software Update
An attacker introduces malicious code to the victim's system by altering the payload of a software update, allowing for additional compromise or site disruption at the victim location. These manual, or user-assisted attacks, vary from requiring the user to download and run an executable, to as streamlined as tricking the user to click a URL. Attacks which aim at penetrating a specific network infrastructure often rely upon secondary attack methods to achieve the desired impact. Spamming, for example, is a common method employed as an secondary attack vector. Thus the attacker has in their arsenal a choice of initial attack vectors ranging from traditional SMTP/POP/IMAP spamming and its varieties, to web-application mechanisms which commonly implement both chat and rich HTML messaging within the user interface.
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Overview
CAPEC-533 (Malicious Manual Software Update) is a detailed-level attack pattern catalogued by MITRE in the Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC). It describes a recurring method attackers use to exploit software weaknesses.
What the attacker needs
Prerequisites
- Advanced knowledge about the download and update installation processes.
- Advanced knowledge about the deployed system and its various software subcomponents and processes.
Skills required
- High skill: Able to develop malicious code that can be used on the victim's system while maintaining normal functionality.
How to mitigate it
Defenses that reduce the risk of CAPEC-533.
- Only accept software updates from an official source.
Examples
An email campaign was initiated, targetting victims of a ransomware attack. The email claimed to be a patch to address the ransomware attack, but was instead an attachment that caused the Cobalt Strike tools to be installed, which enabled further attacks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about CAPEC-533.
- What is CAPEC-533?
- An attacker introduces malicious code to the victim's system by altering the payload of a software update, allowing for additional compromise or site disruption at the victim location. These manual, or user-assisted attacks, vary from requiring the user to download and run an executable, to as streamlined as tricking the user to click a URL. Attacks which aim at penetrating a specific network infrastructure often rely upon secondary attack methods to achieve the desired impact. Spamming, for example, is a common method employed as an secondary attack vector. Thus the attacker has in their arsenal a choice of initial attack vectors ranging from traditional SMTP/POP/IMAP spamming and its varieties, to web-application mechanisms which commonly implement both chat and rich HTML messaging within the user interface.
- How do you prevent CAPEC-533?
- Only accept software updates from an official source.
- What weaknesses does CAPEC-533 target?
- CAPEC-533 exploits 1 CWE weakness, including CWE-494 (Download of Code Without Integrity Check).
- How severe is CAPEC-533?
- MITRE rates CAPEC-533 as High severity with low likelihood of attack.
References
Attack-pattern data is sourced from the MITRE CAPEC catalog (v3.9). Weakness associations link to the corresponding CWE entries on RadicalNotion.AI.
Defend against CAPEC-533
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