T1087.001sub-technique of T1087 Account Discovery

Local Account

ESXi · Linux · macOS · Windowsnothing on this site yetT1087.001 on attack.mitre.org

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of local system accounts. This information can help adversaries determine which local accounts exist on a system to aid in follow-on behavior. Commands such as `net user` and `net localgroup` of the Net utility and `id` and `groups` on macOS and Linux can list local users and groups. On Linux, local users can also be enumerated through the use of the `/etc/passwd` file. On macOS, the `dscl.

MITRE ATT&CK 19.2, retrieved 2026-09-12

how MITRE says to see it

Local Account Enumeration Across Host Platforms

  • Adversary enumeration of local user accounts using Net.exe, WMI, or PowerShell.
  • Enumeration of local users or groups via file access (/etc/passwd) or commands like id, groups.
  • Enumeration of macOS local users using dscl, id, dscacheutil, or /etc/passwd access.
  • Enumeration of local ESXi accounts using esxcli or vSphere API from unauthorized sessions.

what reduces it

  • M1028 Operating System Configuration. Prevent administrator accounts from being enumerated when an application is elevating through UAC since it can lead to the disclosure of account names. The Registry key is located at `HKLM\ SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\CredUI\EnumerateAdministrators`.

the rest of T1087

The description, detection analytics and mitigations are reproduced from MITRE ATT&CK, version 19.2, under its terms of use. The checklists, hunts, labs and everything else linked here are this site’s.