CAPEC-647 Collect Data from Registries – Attack Pattern Analysis

CAPEC-647 Metadata

Likelihood of Attack

Medium

Typical Severity

Medium

Overview

Summary

An adversary exploits a weakness in authorization to gather system-specific data and sensitive information within a registry (e.g., Windows Registry, Mac plist). These contain information about the system configuration, software, operating system, and security. The adversary can leverage information gathered in order to carry out further attacks.

Prerequisites

The adversary must have obtained logical access to the system by some means (e.g., via obtained credentials or planting malware on the system). The adversary must have capability to navigate the operating system to peruse the registry.

Execution Flow

Step	Phase	Description	Techniques
1	Explore	[Gain logical access to system] An adversary must first gain logical access to the system it wants to gather registry information from,	Obtain user account credentials and access the system Plant malware on the system that will give remote logical access to the adversary
2	Experiment	[Determine if the permissions are correct] Once logical access is gained, an adversary will determine if they have the proper permissions, or are authorized, to view registry information. If they do not, they will need to escalate privileges on the system through other means
3	Experiment	[Peruse registry for information] Once an adversary has access to a registry, they will gather all system-specific data and sensitive information that they deem useful.
4	Exploit	[Follow-up attack] Use any information or weaknesses found to carry out a follow-up attack

Potential Solutions / Mitigations

Employ a robust and layered defensive posture in order to prevent unauthorized users on your system. Employ robust identification and audit/blocking via using an allowlist of applications on your system. Unnecessary applications, utilities, and configurations will have a presence in the system registry that can be leveraged by an adversary through this attack pattern.

Related Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE ID	Description
CWE-285	Improper Authorization

Related CAPECs

CAPEC ID	Description
CAPEC-150	An adversary exploits well-known locations for resources for the purposes of undermining the security of the target. In many, if not most systems, files and resources are organized in a default tree structure. This can be useful for adversaries because they often know where to look for resources or files that are necessary for attacks. Even when the precise location of a targeted resource may not be known, naming conventions may indicate a small area of the target machine's file tree where the resources are typically located. For example, configuration files are normally stored in the /etc director on Unix systems. Adversaries can take advantage of this to commit other types of attacks.

CAPEC ID

Description

CAPEC-150

An adversary exploits well-known locations for resources for the purposes of undermining the security of the target. In many, if not most systems, files and resources are organized in a default tree structure. This can be useful for adversaries because they often know where to look for resources or files that are necessary for attacks. Even when the precise location of a targeted resource may not be known, naming conventions may indicate a small area of the target machine's file tree where the resources are typically located. For example, configuration files are normally stored in the /etc director on Unix systems. Adversaries can take advantage of this to commit other types of attacks.

Taxonomy Mappings

Taxonomy: ATTACK

Entry ID	Entry Name
1005	Data from Local System
1012	Query Registry
1552.002	Unsecured Credentials: Credentials in Registry

Stay Ahead of Attack Patterns

Understanding CAPEC patterns helps security professionals anticipate and thwart potential attacks. Leverage these insights to enhance threat modeling, strengthen your software development lifecycle, and train your security teams effectively.