Launchctl controls the macOS launchd process which handles things like launch agents and launch daemons, but can execute other commands or programs itself. Launchctl supports taking subcommands on the command-line, interactively, or even redirected from standard input. By loading or reloading launch agents or launch daemons, adversaries can install persistence or execute changes they made 1. Running a command from launchctl is as simple as <code>launchctl submit -l <labelName> -- /Path/to/thing/to/execute "arg" "arg" "arg"</code>. Loading, unloading, or reloading launch agents or launch daemons can require elevated privileges. Adversaries can abuse this functionality to execute code or even bypass whitelisting if launchctl is an allowed process.
- Sofacy Komplex Trojan
Groups using this technique
No group use in the reference set yet.
Claims
No public claim points at this technique yet.
Auto-ingested and not human-reviewed; confidence and validity read by citation.