Valid Accounts: Local Accounts

Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of a local account as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion. Local accounts are those configured by an organization for use by users, remote support, services, or for administration on a single system or service.

Local Accounts may also be abused to elevate privileges and harvest credentials through OS Credential Dumping. Password reuse may allow the abuse of local accounts across a set of machines on a network for the purposes of Privilege Escalation and Lateral Movement.

Technique Identifier

T1078.003

Technique Tags

Defense Evasion Persistence Privilege Escalation Initial Access OS Credential Dumping Password reuse weak passwords lateral movement

Evasion Categories

Defense Evasion [Mitre]

Additional Resources

External Links

The resources provided below are associated links that will give you even more detailed information and research on current evasion technique. It is important to note that, while these resources may be helpful, it is important to exercise caution when following external links. As always, be careful when clicking on links from unknown sources, as they may lead to malicious content.

Valid Accounts: Local Accounts, Sub-technique T1078.003 - Enterprise | MITRE ATT&CK®

Created

March 20, 2023

Last Revised

March 24, 2026