Adversaries may inject malicious code into processes via ptrace (process trace) system calls in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. Ptrace system call injection is a method of executing arbitrary code in the address space of a separate live process. Ptrace system call injection involves attaching to and modifying a running process. The ptrace system call enables a debugging process to observe and control another process (and each individual thread), including changing memory and register values.(Citation: PTRACE man) Ptrace system call injection is commonly performed by writing arbitrary code into a running process (ex: malloc) then invoking that memory with PTRACE_SETREGS to set the register containing the next instruction to execute. Ptrace system call injection can also be done with PTRACE_POKETEXT/PTRACE_POKEDATA, which copy data to a specific address in the target processes’ memory (ex: the current address of the next instruction). (Citation: PTRACE man)(Citation: Medium Ptrace JUL 2018) Ptrace system call injection may not be possible targeting processes that are non-child processes and/or have higher-privileges.(Citation: BH Linux Inject) Running code in the context of another process may allow access to the process's memory, system/network resources, and possibly elevated privileges. Execution via ptrace system call injection may also evade detection from security products since the execution is masked under a legitimate process.

Linked Issues

Issuelinks
Linktyp Issue
is related to Techniques
is blocked by Behavior Prevention on Endpoint
is blocked by Privileged Account Management
is blocked by Detection Strategy for Ptrace-Based Process Injection on Linux
is blocked by Access Restriction For Change
is blocked by Secure Baseline Configurations
is blocked by Continuous Monitoring
is blocked by Malicious Code Protection (Anti-Malware)
is blocked by Mobile Code
is blocked by Separation of Duties (SoD)
is blocked by Identification & Authentication for Organizational Users
is blocked by Account Management
is blocked by Access Enforcement
is blocked by Least Privilege
is blocked by Boundary Protection
is blocked by Software & Firmware Patching
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