MITRE ATT&CKsub-technique

T1204.004 Malicious Copy and Paste

Published 2025-03-18 Modified 2026-05-12 Official page ↗
Domain
enterprise
Tactics
Execution
Platforms
Linux, macOS, Windows
Version
1.1
Created
2025-03-18

Description

An adversary may rely upon a user copying and pasting code in order to gain execution. Users may be subjected to social engineering to get them to copy and paste code directly into a Command and Scripting Interpreter. One such strategy is "ClickFix," in which adversaries present users with seemingly helpful solutions—such as prompts to fix errors or complete CAPTCHAs—that instead instruct the user to copy and paste malicious code. Malicious websites, such as those used in Drive-by Compromise, may present fake error messages or CAPTCHA prompts that instruct users to open a terminal or the Windows Run Dialog box and execute an arbitrary command. These commands may be obfuscated using encoding or other techniques to conceal malicious intent. Once executed, the adversary will typically be able to establish a foothold on the victim's machine. Adversaries may also leverage phishing emails for this purpose. When a user attempts to open an attachment, they may be presented with a fake error and offered a malicious command to paste as a solution, consistent with the "ClickFix" strategy. Tricking a user into executing a command themselves may help to bypass email filtering, browser sandboxing, or other mitigations designed to protect users against malicious downloaded files.

Related

Subtechnique of · MITRE ATT&CK (1)

  • T1204 User Execution technique

Tactic · MITRE ATT&CK (1)

Referenced by MITRE ATT&CK · mitigates (3)

  • M1038 Execution Prevention mitigation
  • M1031 Network Intrusion Prevention mitigation
  • M1021 Restrict Web-Based Content mitigation

Referenced by MITRE ATT&CK · uses (6)

  • S9050 Vidar software (malware)
  • S9044 Kali365 software (malware)
  • G1052 Contagious Interview group
  • S1229 Havoc software (malware)
  • G0094 Kimsuky group
  • G0069 MuddyWater group

Referenced by Compliance · mitigates (2)

  • CIS-13.10 Perform Application Layer Filtering CIS Safeguard v8.1
  • CIS-13.8 Deploy a Network Intrusion Prevention Solution CIS Safeguard v8.1

References