T1547.007sub-technique of T1547 Boot or Logon Autostart Execution

Re-opened Applications

macOSnothing on this site yetT1547.007 on attack.mitre.org

Adversaries may modify plist files to automatically run an application when a user logs in. When a user logs out or restarts via the macOS Graphical User Interface (GUI), a prompt is provided to the user with a checkbox to "Reopen windows when logging back in". When selected, all applications currently open are added to a property list file named `com.apple.loginwindow.[UUID].plist` within the `~/Library/Preferences/ByHost` directory.
MITRE ATT&CK 19.2, retrieved 2026-09-12

If this is happening now

Checklists and playbooks to open while the alert is still live.

Playbook for this stage

Suspicious execution on an endpoint

An EDR alert, an unexplained process, or a user reporting something odd.

Playbook for this stage

Cloud account compromise

Impossible travel, an unrecognised inbox rule, or a reported invoice-fraud attempt.

how MITRE says to see it

Detect persistence via reopened application plist modification (macOS)

Unusual modification or creation of loginwindow-related plist files in '~/Library/Preferences/ByHost' correlated with unauthorized application paths and execution upon login.

what reduces it

M1017 User Training. Holding the Shift key while logging in prevents apps from opening automatically.
M1042 Disable or Remove Feature or Program. This feature can be disabled entirely with the following terminal command: `defaults write -g ApplePersistence -bool no`.

the rest of T1547

T1547.001 Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder · 8 on this site
T1547.002 Authentication Package · not covered yet
T1547.003 Time Providers · not covered yet
T1547.004 Winlogon Helper DLL · not covered yet
T1547.005 Security Support Provider · not covered yet
T1547.006 Kernel Modules and Extensions · not covered yet
T1547.008 LSASS Driver · not covered yet
T1547.009 Shortcut Modification · not covered yet
T1547.010 Port Monitors · not covered yet
T1547.012 Print Processors · not covered yet
T1547.013 XDG Autostart Entries · not covered yet
T1547.014 Active Setup · not covered yet
T1547.015 Login Items · not covered yet

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.