T1546.014: Emond

Adversaries may gain persistence and elevate privileges by executing malicious content triggered by the Event Monitor Daemon (emond). Emond is a Launch Daemon that accepts events from various services, runs them through a simple rules engine, and takes action. The emond binary at /sbin/emond will load any rules from the /etc/emond.d/rules/ directory and take action once an explicitly defined event takes place.

The rule files are in the plist format and define the name, event type, and action to take. Some examples of event types include system startup and user authentication. Examples of actions are to run a system command or send an email. The emond service will not launch if there is no file present in the QueueDirectories path /private/var/db/emondClients, specified in the Launch Daemon configuration file at/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.emond.plist.

Adversaries may abuse this service by writing a rule to execute commands when a defined event occurs, such as system start up or user authentication. Adversaries may also be able to escalate privileges from administrator to root as the emond service is executed with root privileges by the Launch Daemon service.

Detection

IDDS0022Data source and componentFile: File CreationDescription

Monitor emond rules creation by checking for files created in /etc/emond.d/rules/ and /private/var/db/emondClients.

IDDS0017Data source and componentCommand: Command ExecutionDescription

Monitor executed commands and arguments that may gain persistence and elevate privileges by executing malicious content triggered by the Event Monitor Daemon (emond).

IDDS0009Data source and componentProcess: Process CreationDescription

Monitor newly executed processes that may gain persistence and elevate privileges by executing malicious content triggered by the Event Monitor Daemon (emond).

IDDS0022Data source and componentFile: File ModificationDescription

Monitor emond rules creation by checking for files modified in /etc/emond.d/rules/ and /private/var/db/emondClients.

Mitigation

IDM1042NameDisable or Remove Feature or ProgramDescription

Consider disabling emond by removing the Launch Daemon plist file.