Suspicious User Added To Admin Group Through DseditGroup (via process_creation)

title: Suspicious User Added To Admin Group Through DseditGroup (via process_creation)
id: 49d244f0-a184-5b22-8c2e-d936dc419050
status: stable
description: This rule detects attempts to create and/or add an account to the admin group, thus granting admin privileges.
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/003/
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1078.003/T1078.003.md#atomic-test-5---add-a-newexisting-user-to-the-admin-group-using-dseditgroup-utility---macos
    - https://ss64.com/osx/dseditgroup.html
author: Huntrule Team
date: 2026-04-24
tags:
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.initial-access
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.stealth
    - attack.t1078.003
logsource:
    category: process_creation
    product: macos
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith: '/dseditgroup'
        CommandLine|contains|all:
            - ' -o edit '
            - ' -a '
            - ' -t user'
            - 'admin'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium