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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.

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