MITRE ATT&CKtechnique
T1049 System Network Connections Discovery
- Domain
- enterprise
- Tactics
- Discovery
- Platforms
- ESXi, IaaS, Linux, macOS, Network Devices, Windows
- Version
- 2.5
- Created
- 2017-05-31
Description
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of network connections to or from the compromised system they are currently accessing or from remote systems by querying for information over the network.
An adversary who gains access to a system that is part of a cloud-based environment may map out Virtual Private Clouds or Virtual Networks in order to determine what systems and services are connected. The actions performed are likely the same types of discovery techniques depending on the operating system, but the resulting information may include details about the networked cloud environment relevant to the adversary's goals. Cloud providers may have different ways in which their virtual networks operate. Similarly, adversaries who gain access to network devices may also perform similar discovery activities to gather information about connected systems and services.
Utilities and commands that acquire this information include netstat, "net use," and "net session" with Net. In Mac and Linux, netstat and lsof can be used to list current connections. who -a and w can be used to show which users are currently logged in, similar to "net session". Additionally, built-in features native to network devices and Network Device CLI may be used (e.g. show ip sockets, show tcp brief). On ESXi servers, the command `esxi network ip connection list` can be used to list active network connections.
Related
Tactic · MITRE ATT&CK (1)
- TA0007 Discovery tactic
Referenced by MITRE ATT&CK · uses (99)
- G1059 NIMBUS MANTICORE group
- S9041 TeamPCP Cloud Stealer software (malware)
- C0063 2025 Poland Wiper Attacks campaign
- C0062 Anthropic AI-orchestrated Campaign campaign
- S1228 PUBLOAD software (malware)
- G1047 Velvet Ant group
- S1144 FRP software (tool)
- S1141 LunarWeb software (malware)
- G1032 INC Ransom group
- G1023 APT5 group
- G1022 ToddyCat group
- S1091 Pacu software (tool)
- S1085 Sardonic software (malware)
- S1081 BADHATCH software (malware)
- G1016 FIN13 group
- G1017 Volt Typhoon group
- S1075 KOPILUWAK software (malware)
- S1060 Mafalda software (malware)
- C0014 Operation Wocao campaign
- C0012 Operation CuckooBees campaign
- C0007 FunnyDream campaign
- S1032 PyDCrypt software (malware)
- G1006 Earth Lusca group
- S0696 Flagpro software (malware)
- S0681 Lizar software (malware)
- S0678 Torisma software (malware)
- G0139 TeamTNT group
- G0138 Andariel group
- S0650 QakBot software (malware)
- G0135 BackdoorDiplomacy group
Referenced by CAPEC · att&ck technique (1)
- CAPEC-309 Network Topology Mapping attack pattern
References
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/what-is-amazon-vpc.html Amazon AWS VPC Guide
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-network/virtual-networks-overview Microsoft Azure Virtual Network Overview
- https://cloud.google.com/vpc/docs/vpc Google VPC Overview
- https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA18-106A US-CERT-TA18-106A
- https://www.sygnia.co/blog/esxi-ransomware-ssh-tunneling-defense-strategies/ Sygnia ESXi Ransomware 2025