Exploits

Exploits are specialized software tools or code sequences crafted during the Resource Development phase to take advantage of known vulnerabilities in target systems, forming a critical component in an adversary's capability development arsenal. Operating as the technical bridge between vulnerability identification and exploitation execution, these artifacts enable adversaries to transform theoretical security weaknesses into practical attack vectors. Exploits can target various system components including operating systems, application software, firmware, or hardware interfaces, and may leverage memory corruption, logic flaws, race conditions, or authentication bypass vulnerabilities to achieve unauthorized access or privilege escalation. Adversaries typically develop these capabilities before the active attack phases, investing significant resources into creating reliable exploits that can penetrate defensive mechanisms while maintaining operational stealth. The sophistication of exploit development ranges from simple script modification of publicly available proof-of-concept code to advanced custom exploit engineering that targets zero-day vulnerabilities, with the complexity often correlating with the adversary's technical capabilities and available resources.

Data Sources

Malware Analysis: Static and dynamic analysis of exploit code and payloads
Code Repositories: Public and private repositories containing exploit development projects
Threat Intelligence: Intelligence reports documenting exploit usage by threat actors
Vulnerability Databases: CVE listings and proof-of-concept exploits

Detection

Monitor for exploit development activities including code repositories with suspicious exploit-related content, unusual compilation activities, and testing of exploit code against vulnerable systems. Detection strategies include:

Code Repository Monitoring: Track repositories containing exploit code or vulnerability research
Development Environment Analysis: Monitor for compilation of exploit tools and proof-of-concept code
Network Traffic Analysis: Identify testing of exploits against vulnerable services
Threat Intelligence Integration: Correlate exploit signatures with known threat actor capabilities

Mitigations

ID	Mitigation	Description
M1056	Pre-compromise	This technique cannot be easily mitigated with preventive controls since it is based on behaviors performed outside of the scope of enterprise defenses and controls.