huntrule

macOS Process Discovery via ioreg I/O Kit Registry Queries

Flags macOS executions of ioreg with discovery-oriented arguments and device/vendor strings from command-line telemetry.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
macos
Category
process_creation
Author
Joseliyo Sanchez, @Joseliyo_Jstnk (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2023-12-20
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery

  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 identifies execution of macOS ioreg to collect I/O Kit registry and system-related information. Attackers may use ioreg output to enumerate hardware, virtualized environments, or device details as part of system reconnaissance. It relies on process creation telemetry, matching image paths ending in ioreg and command-line arguments that include common ioreg options and target class/vendor strings.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1082 — drag to rearrange
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Malicious DinodasRAT Hidden Config File Creation on Linux (via file_event)
Suspicious System Discovery via WMIC Query Commands (via process_creation)
Suspicious PowerShell Host and Locale Reconnaissance via MuddyWater Tsundere Botnet
Suspicious System Reconnaissance Output Redirected to Temp rad File
Suspicious System Profiler Hardware Reconnaissance via BANSHEE
macOS Process Discovery via ioreg I/O Kit Registry Queries
Pivot detection · T1082 · 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.