T1480.002 Mutual Exclusion — ATT&CK Technique
Adversaries may constrain execution or actions based on the presence of a mutex associated with malware. A mutex is a locking mechanism used to synchronize access to a resource. Only one thread or process can acquire a mutex at a given time. While local mutexes only exist within a given process, allowing multiple threads to synchronize access to a resource, system mutexes can be used to synchronize the activities of multiple processes. By creating a unique system mutex associated with a particular malware, adversaries can verify whether or not a system has already been compromised. In Linux environments, malware may instead attempt to acquire a lock on a mutex file. If the malware is able to acquire the lock, it continues to execute; if it fails, it exits to avoid creating a second instance of itself. Mutex names may be hard-coded or dynamically generated using a predictable algorithm.
Malware using this technique
- TONESHELL
- PureCrypter
- CLAIMLOADER
- PlugX
- LockBit 3.0
- Gazer
- SPAWNCHIMERA
- Embargo
- BPFDoor
- Black Basta
- StrelaStealer
- HiddenFace
- REvil
- PoisonIvy
- SUNSPOT
- GrimAgent
- Troll Stealer
- Qilin