Elastic Security Detection Rules

TCC Bypass via Mounted APFS Snapshot Access

Last updated 5 months ago on 2025-03-18
Created 6 years ago on 2020-01-04

About

Identifies the use of the mount_apfs command to mount the entire file system through Apple File System (APFS) snapshots as read-only and with the noowners flag set. This action enables the adversary to access almost any file in the file system, including all user data and files protected by Apple’s privacy framework (TCC).
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: macOSUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Defense EvasionUse Case: VulnerabilityData Source: Elastic DefendLanguage: eql
Severity
high
Risk Score
73
MITRE ATT&CK™

Defense Evasion (TA0005)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Direct Volume Access (T1006)(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
process where host.os.type == "macos" and event.type in ("start", "process_started") and process.name == "mount_apfs" and
 process.args like~ "/System/Volumes/Data" and process.args like~ "noowners"

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect TCC Bypass via Mounted APFS Snapshot Access 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).