Electron Applications

T1218.015

Sub-technique of T1218 System Binary Proxy Execution.View on attack.mitre.org

About this technique

Adversaries may abuse components of the Electron framework to execute malicious code. The Electron framework hosts many common applications such as Signal, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. Originally developed by GitHub, Electron is a cross-platform desktop application development framework that employs web technologies like JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. The Chromium engine is used to display web content and Node.js runs the backend code.

Due to the functional mechanics of Electron (such as allowing apps to run arbitrary commands), adversaries may also be able to perform malicious functions in the background potentially disguised as legitimate tools within the framework. For example, the abuse of `teams.exe` and `chrome.exe` may allow adversaries to execute malicious commands as child processes of the legitimate application (e.g., `chrome.exe --disable-gpu-sandbox --gpu-launcher="C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe /c calc.exe`).

Adversaries may also execute malicious content by planting malicious JavaScript within Electron applications.

Detection rules0

Rules on DetectionCode tagged with T1218.015.

Sigma0

No Sigma rules are mapped to this technique yet.

Splunk0

No Splunk rules are mapped to this technique yet.

Groups0

None recorded.

Software1

Campaigns1

Procedure examples2

Software1

Used byProcedure example
MalwareLumma Stealer

Lumma Stealer as leveraged Electron Applications to disable GPU sandboxing to avoid detection by security software.

Campaigns1

Used byProcedure example
Campaign3CX Supply Chain Attack

During the 3CX Supply Chain Attack, AppleJeus leveraged the 3CX application's electron framework to execute its malicious libraries under the official 3CX electron application.

References5

  1. Electron 1 Open source
    TOM ABAI. (2023, August 10). There’s a New Stealer Variant in Town, and It’s Using Electron to Stay Fully Undetected. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  2. Electron 2 Open source
    Trend Micro. (2023, June 6). Abusing Electronbased applications in targeted attacks. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  3. Electron 3 Open source
    Alanna Titterington. (2023, September 14). Security of Electron-based desktop applications. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  4. Electron 6-8 Open source
    Kosayev, U. (2023, June 15). One Electron to Rule Them All. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  5. Electron Security Open source
    ElectronJS.org. (n.d.). Retrieved March 7, 2024.

Data from MITRE ATT&CK® (Enterprise). ATT&CK® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation.