macOS Local Group Enumeration via dscacheutil, cat /etc/group, or dscl

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
- T1069.001Local Groups
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule flags process executions on macOS used to enumerate local system groups by querying group sources such as dscacheutil, /etc/group, or dscl. Attackers commonly use group discovery to understand local permissions and tailor follow-on actions. The detection relies on process creation telemetry, matching command-line arguments and executable paths for the relevant group enumeration commands.

Reporting behind it

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macOS Local Group Enumeration via dscacheutil, cat /etc/group, or dscl

Pivot detection · T1069.001 · 9 related

Changelog

v2

v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v1
No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

macos-local-groups-discovery-via-dscacheutil-cat-dscl-enumeration-89bb1f97

title: macOS Local Group Enumeration via dscacheutil, cat /etc/group, or dscl
id: 6d1a9f49-6568-42f3-b40b-4c5e494375a2
status: test
description: This rule flags process executions on macOS used to enumerate local system groups by querying group sources such as dscacheutil, /etc/group, or dscl. Attackers commonly use group discovery to understand local permissions and tailor follow-on actions. The detection relies on process creation telemetry, matching command-line arguments and executable paths for the relevant group enumeration commands.
references:
  - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1069.001/T1069.001.md
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/macos/process_creation/proc_creation_macos_local_groups.yml
author: Ömer Günal, Alejandro Ortuno, oscd.community, Huntrule Team
date: 2020-10-11
modified: 2022-11-27
tags:
  - attack.discovery
  - attack.t1069.001
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: macos
detection:
  selection_1:
    Image|endswith: /dscacheutil
    CommandLine|contains|all:
      - -q
      - group
  selection_2:
    Image|endswith: /cat
    CommandLine|contains: /etc/group
  selection_3:
    Image|endswith: /dscl
    CommandLine|contains|all:
      - -list
      - /groups
  condition: 1 of selection*
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate administration activities
level: informational
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: 89bb1f97-c7b9-40e8-b52b-7d6afbd67276
    type: derived

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