Malicious SUGARLOADER Configuration Masquerading as Safari Cache via File Event

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
macos
Category
file_event
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-05-22
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion → Cred Access
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Discovery

  9. Lateral Movement

  10. Collection

  11. C2

  12. Exfiltration

  13. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects creation of a com.apple.safari.ck file in the Library Caches directory which is the RC4 encrypted configuration written by the SUGARLOADER stage of the KANDYKORN intrusion. The filename masquerades as a legitimate Safari cache to hide malware configuration on macOS hosts.

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