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Local Account (T1087.001) is a MITRE ATT&CK technique associated with Discovery . Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of local system accounts.
Local Account (T1087.001) is a MITRE ATT&CK technique associated with Discovery. Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of local system accounts.
Attackers use Local Account because it provides a reliable way to advance their objective within the Discovery tactic, often with a favorable balance of impact versus detectability on ESXi, Linux, macOS, Windows environments. Defenders should assess this behavior in the context of the affected platform and adjacent activity rather than treating it as a standalone indicator.
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of local system accounts. This information can help adversaries determine which local accounts exist on a system to aid in follow-on behavior.
Commands such as <code>net user</code> and <code>net localgroup</code> of the Net utility and <code>id</code> and <code>groups</code> on macOS and Linux can list local users and groups.(Citation: Mandiant APT1)(Citation: id man page)(Citation: groups man page) On Linux, local users can also be enumerated through the use of the <code>/etc/passwd</code> file. On macOS, the <code>dscl . list /Users</code> command can be used to enumerate local accounts. On ESXi servers, the esxcli system account list command can list local user accounts.(Citation: Crowdstrike Hypervisor Jackpotting Pt 2 2021)
No universal command represents Local Account. Capture the exact command line, arguments, parent process, account, host, and execution time from the investigated environment; do not operationalize unverified examples.
| Event ID | Log Channel | What It Indicates |
|---|---|---|
| Environment-specific | Relevant Windows channel(s) | Correlate authentication, process, object-access, and configuration events with the observed execution context. |
| Sysmon Event ID | Name | Why It's Relevant Here |
|---|---|---|
| Environment-specific | Validate configured telemetry | Use process, network, file, registry, DNS, or image-load telemetry only when relevant and enabled. |
No MITRE detection guidance published for this technique.
Relevant ATT&CK Data Sources: N/A
A universal Sigma rule would create unreliable results because this technique has no single guaranteed observable. Build detection logic from a documented behavior and supported data source, scope it to the affected platform, and validate it against benign administrative activity before deployment.
Start with the data sources named in the detection section. Scope searches by asset, identity, and time window; correlate the primary behavior with preceding access and subsequent actions. A portable query is intentionally not provided where the technique lacks a universal schema or observable.