Applied Cybernetics Group
T1557 Adversary-in-the-Middle
- Technique
T1557- Tactics
- Credential Access, Collection
- Research, 90 days
- 7
- KEV CVEs mapped
- 4
- SigmaHQ rules
- 10
- Elastic, Splunk
- 27
- thrunt rules
- 4
- Upstream
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1557
MITRE description
Adversaries may attempt to position themselves between two or more networked devices using an adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) technique to support follow-on behaviors such as [Network Sniffing](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1040), [Transmitted Data Manipulation](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1565/002), or replay attacks ([Exploitation for Credential Access](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1212)). By abusing features of common networking protocols that can determine the flow of network traffic (e.g. ARP, DNS, LLMNR, etc.), adversaries may force a device to communicate through an adversary controlled system so they can collect information or perform additional actions.(Citation: Rapid7 MiTM Basics) For example, adversaries may manipulate victim DNS settings to enable other malicious activities such as preventing/redirecting users from accessing legitimate sites and/or pushing additional malware.(Citation: ttint_rat)(Citation: dns_changer_trojans)(Citation: ad_blocker_with_miner) Adversaries may also manipulate DNS and leverage their position in order to intercept user credentials, including access tokens ([Steal Application Access Token](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1528)) and session cookies ([Steal Web Session Cookie](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1539)).(Citation: volexity_0day_sophos_FW)(Citation: Token tactics) [Downgrade Attack](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1689)s can also be used to establish an AiTM position, such as by negotiating a less secure, deprecated, or weaker version of communication protocol (SSL/TLS) or encryption algorithm.(Citation: mitm_tls_downgrade_att)(Citation: taxonomy_downgrade_att_tls)(Citation: tlseminar_downgrade_att) Adversaries may also leverage the AiTM position to attempt to monitor and/or modify traffic, such as in [Transmitted Data Manipulation](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1565/002). Adversaries can set up a position similar to AiTM to prevent traffic from flowing to the appropriate destination, potentially to impair defenses and/or in support of a [Network Denial of Service](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1498).
KEV CVEs mapped to this technique
MITRE CTID maps these KEV CVEs to this technique by hand. They are the actively exploited vulnerabilities behind this technique's KEV signal.
Research citing this technique
Reports and advisories from the last 90 days that cite this technique.
-
2026-11-04ESET: SlippyNunchucks hijacks Sogou Input Method’s brand promotion mechanism to distribute malware -
2026-10-30Microsoft Threat Intelligence: From help desk impersonation to AD CS abuse: Investigating ESC1 and ESC8 intrusion paths -
2026-10-29Cisco Talos: IR trends Q3 2026: Actors impersonate IT help desks in vishing attacks as ransomware activity increases -
2026-10-22Huntress: M365 Token Spray and Replay Campaign Compromises Business Email Accounts -
2026-09-02Huntress: Inside Knight Office, a New M365 AiTM Phishing Kit -
2026-08-25Group-IB: Balonx Sistema: El Rostro Detrás del PhaaS que Impacta la Banca Mexicana -
2026-08-19Group-IB: Balonx Sistema: The Face Behind the PhaaS Affecting Mexican Banking
Detection coverage
thrunt rules
t1557-non-okta-host-oktaverify-svgt1557-recaptcha-skinned-turnstile-gatet1557-aitm-cross-asn-session-mfat1557-claims-kit-single-letter-c2-xenc
SigmaHQ community rules
- Azure Sign-In With Axios User Agent (threat-hunting)
- Cisco BGP Authentication Failures (core)
- Cisco LDP Authentication Failures (core)
- Huawei BGP Authentication Failures (core)
- Juniper BGP Missing MD5 (core)
- ISATAP Router Address Was Set (core)
- Notepad++ Updater DNS Query to Uncommon Domains (core)
- Uncommon File Created by Notepad++ Updater Gup.EXE (core)
- Suspicious Child Process of Notepad++ Updater - GUP.Exe (core)
- Potential Suspicious Activity Using SeCEdit (core)
Elastic and Splunk rules
- AWS Route 53 Private Hosted Zone Associated With a VPC (elastic)
- Azure AKS CoreDNS or Kube-DNS Configuration Modified (elastic)
- Microsoft Entra ID Impossible Travel Sign-in (elastic)
- Entra ID Multiple Device Registrations by a Single User (elastic)
- Google Workspace User Login with Unusual ASN (elastic)
- Google Workspace Impossible Travel Login (elastic)
- Google Workspace Device Registration Burst for Single User (elastic)
- WebProxy Settings Modification (elastic)
- Multiple DHCP Servers Responding to the Same Transaction (elastic)
- ICMP Redirect Message from Internal Host (elastic)
- Deprecated TLS Version or Weak Cipher Negotiated Externally (elastic)
- Potential ADIDNS Poisoning via Wildcard Record Creation (elastic)
- Potential WPAD Spoofing via DNS Record Creation (elastic)
- Creation of a DNS-Named Record (elastic)
- Potential Computer Account NTLM Relay Activity (elastic)
- Potential Kerberos Relay Attack against a Computer Account (elastic)
- Potential NTLM Relay Attack against a Computer Account (elastic)
- Potential Kerberos Coercion via DNS-Based SPN Spoofing (elastic)
- Potential Kerberos SPN Spoofing via Suspicious DNS Query (elastic)
- Potential Machine Account Relay Attack via SMB (elastic)
- Potential PowerShell Pass-the-Hash/Relay Script (elastic)
- Potential Local NTLM Relay via HTTP (elastic)
- Creation or Modification of Root Certificate (elastic)
- DNS Global Query Block List Modified or Disabled (elastic)
- Service Creation via Local Kerberos Authentication (elastic)
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