Elastic Security Detection Rules

Persistence via DirectoryService Plugin Modification

Last updated 5 months ago on 2025-03-18
Created 5 years ago on 2021-01-13

About

Identifies the creation or modification of a DirectoryService PlugIns (dsplug) file. The DirectoryService daemon launches on each system boot and automatically reloads after crash. It scans and executes bundles that are located in the DirectoryServices PlugIns folder and can be abused by adversaries to maintain persistence.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: macOSUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: PersistenceData Source: Elastic DefendLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Persistence (TA0003)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Boot or Logon Autostart Execution (T1547)(opens in a new tab or window)

License
Elastic License v2(opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-endpoint.events.*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
file where host.os.type == "macos" and event.action == "modification" and
  file.path like "/Library/DirectoryServices/PlugIns/*.dsplug"

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Persistence via DirectoryService Plugin Modification in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(opens in a new tab or window).