MITRE ATT&CKsub-technique

T1036.006 Space after Filename

Published 2020-02-10 Modified 2026-05-12 Official page ↗
Domain
enterprise
Tactics
Stealth
Platforms
Linux, macOS
Version
2.0
Created
2020-02-10

Description

Adversaries can hide a program's true filetype by changing the extension of a file. With certain file types (specifically this does not work with .app extensions), appending a space to the end of a filename will change how the file is processed by the operating system. For example, if there is a Mach-O executable file called evil.bin, when it is double clicked by a user, it will launch Terminal.app and execute. If this file is renamed to evil.txt, then when double clicked by a user, it will launch with the default text editing application (not executing the binary). However, if the file is renamed to evil.txt (note the space at the end), then when double clicked by a user, the true file type is determined by the OS and handled appropriately and the binary will be executed . Adversaries can use this feature to trick users into double clicking benign-looking files of any format and ultimately executing something malicious.

Related

Subtechnique of · MITRE ATT&CK (1)

  • T1036 Masquerading technique

Tactic · MITRE ATT&CK (1)

Referenced by MITRE ATT&CK · uses (2)

  • G0082 APT38 group
  • S0276 Keydnap software (malware)

Referenced by CAPEC · att&ck technique (2)

  • CAPEC-11 Cause Web Server Misclassification attack pattern
  • CAPEC-649 Adding a Space to a File Extension attack pattern

References