huntrule

macOS Local User Account Creation via dscl or sysadminctl

Flags macOS commands (dscl create or sysadminctl addUser) that add local user accounts for persistence.

FreeReviewedSigma · Low · v2
Product
macos
Category
process_creation
Author
Alejandro Ortuno, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-10-06
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence

  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule matches process executions on macOS where dscl is invoked with a create operation or sysadminctl is invoked to add a user. Creating local accounts can provide attacker-controlled persistence without relying on persistent remote access tooling. The detection relies on process creation telemetry, specifically the executable path endings and command-line substrings indicating account creation.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1136.001 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Local Account Creation via Net User in Pre-Ransomware Phase
Suspicious Hidden Local Account Creation via Net User by UAT-8099
Malicious Local Account Creation of Support or Whiteninja via net.exe
Malicious Dynamicweb Unauthenticated Administrator Creation via Setup Default.aspx (via webserver)
Suspicious Hidden Backdoor Account Creation Ending With Dollar Sign (via process_creation)
Malicious User Creation via Commandline (via process_creation)
Suspicious Local Account Creation and Privileged Group Addition via Net.EXE (via process_creation)
Suspicious Hidden Local Account Creation via Dscl (via process_creation)
Suspicious Local Account Creation on Linux (via process_creation)
macOS Local User Account Creation via dscl or sysadminctl
Pivot detection · T1136.001 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. 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.