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Dynamic Linker Hijacking - T1574.006

(Enterprise Technique)


Definition

Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking environment variables the dynamic linker uses to load shared libraries. During the execution preparation phase of a program, the dynamic linker loads specified absolute paths of shared libraries from environment variables and files, such as LD_PRELOAD on Linux or DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES on macOS. Libraries specified in environment variables are loaded first, taking precedence over system libraries with the same function name. These variables are often used by developers to debug binaries without needing to recompile, deconflict mapped symbols, and implement custom functions without changing the original library.


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© 2025 The MITRE Corporation.
Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited #20-2338 and #23-1207.

Use of the MITRE D3FENDâ„¢ Knowledge Graph and website is subject to the Terms of Use. Use of the MITRE D3FEND website is subject to the MITRE D3FEND Privacy Policy. MITRE D3FEND is funded by the National Security Agency (NSA) Cybersecurity Directorate and managed by the National Security Engineering Center (NSEC) which is operated by The MITRE Corporation. MITRE D3FEND; and the MITRE D3FEND logo are trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. This software was produced for the U. S. Government under Basic Contract No. W56KGU-18-D-0004, and is subject to the Rights in Noncommercial Computer Software and Noncommercial Computer Software Documentation Clause 252.227-7014 (FEB 2012)
© 2025 The MITRE Corporation.
Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited #20-2338 and #23-1207.

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