huntrule

macOS: Disable Security Tools via launchctl unload or spctl disable

Detects macOS attempts to impair security by unloading known security agent plists via launchctl or disabling Gatekeeper with spctl.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
macos
Category
process_creation
Author
Daniil Yugoslavskiy, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-10-19
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

  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 flags macOS process activity where security-related services are being disabled or unloaded. It matches launchctl invocations containing 'unload' alongside command lines referencing specific security tool-related plist identifiers, and it also matches spctl command lines containing 'disable'. Attackers may impair host security by stopping endpoint and monitoring components, and the detection relies on process creation telemetry capturing Image and CommandLine fields on macOS.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1685 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Vulnerable Intel Ethernet Driver Load for BYOVD via SCATTERED SPIDER (via driver_load)
Malicious Defender Disable And Executable Exclusion Via Registry
Malicious UAC Disable via EnableLUA Registry Modification (via registry_set)
Malicious AMSI and ETW Patching via PowerShell Script
Malicious PowMix AMSI Bypass via amsiInitFailed
Suspicious ThrottleStop Driver Abuse for Defense Evasion in Ransomware Attacks
Malicious Disabling of Microsoft Defender Real-Time Protection via SystemSettingsAdminFlows by DeadLock Ransomware
Suspicious Security Software Uninstallation via WMIC Product Call Uninstall (Chaos Ransomware)
Suspicious Security Product Uninstall via wmic product call uninstall
macOS: Disable Security Tools via launchctl unload or spctl disable
Pivot detection · T1685 · 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.