MacOS Keychains Dumped
Detects command-line attempts to access or dump macOS Keychain data using native utilities or direct file access. This includes credential dumping via the `security` utility (e.g. `dump-keychain -d`), bulk…
Description
Detects command-line attempts to access or dump macOS Keychain data using native utilities or direct file access. This includes credential dumping via the `security` utility (e.g. `dump-keychain -d`), bulk certificate export using `security find-certificate`, and direct file copying of Keychain database files using utilities such as `cat`. Keychain files are located in `~/Library/Keychains/`, `/Library/Keychains/`, and `/Network/Library/Keychains/`. This technique is commonly associated with post-exploitation credential harvesting, where an attacker with local access seeks to escalate privileges or move laterally by obtaining stored credentials for applications, Wi-Fi networks, system services, and certificates.
Detection logic
Detection requirements
- Platform
- macOS
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.
- Log source category
- osquery_results
Known benign triggers
- Administrators accessing keychain files for troubleshooting or endpoint management.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| gist.github.com/hfeeki/88c12f01d00534e09a84 | Only this detection cites it |
| github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/388942adbd9641f4dfdcf079d7efe9a75ec0ac43/atomics/T1555.001/T1555.001.yaml#L6 | Only this detection cites it |
| github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1555.001/T1555.001.md | Only this detection cites it |
| osquery.readthedocs.io/en/stable/deployment/process-auditing/ | 12 |
| ss64.com/mac/security-keychain-settings.html | Only this detection cites it |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- dcb45a09-5e6f-441e-b2f8-cbbf923e36d9
- Tagged by the source as
- MacOS Privilege EscalationEndpointendpointSplunk CloudSplunk EnterpriseSplunk Enterprise Securityendpoint
Licence
- Published under
- Apache License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
- Obtained under
- Apache-2.0Read the origin licence
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Oct 13, 2026
- Version
- 2