Suspicious Hidden Local Account Creation via Dscl (via process_creation)
- Product
- macos
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-08-19
- Updated
- 2026-08-28
ATT&CK techniques
PersistenceRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule detects dscl creating a user record together with hidden-account or UID attributes, a persistence technique used to add a stealthy admin account that does not appear on the macOS login window. Hidden account creation is tracked in the Red Canary Threat Detection Report macOS coverage. Detecting this surfaces a covert local account being planted.
Reporting behind it
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
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Also included
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