type: attack-pattern
spec_version: 2.1
id: attack-pattern--9db0cf3a-a3c9-4012-8268-123b9db6fd82
created: 2018-04-18T17:59:24.739Z
created_by_ref: identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5
revoked: no
external_references: source_name: mitre-attack
url: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1210
external_id: T1210
source_name: Broadcom VMSA-2024-0019
description: Broadcom. (2024, September 17). VMSA-2024-0019: Questions & Answers. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
url: https://github.com/vmware/vcf-security-and-compliance-guidelines/blob/main/security-advisories/vmsa-2024-0019/README.md
source_name: CIS Multiple SMB Vulnerabilities
description: CIS. (2017, May 15). Multiple Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows SMB Server Could Allow for Remote Code Execution. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
url: https://www.cisecurity.org/advisory/multiple-vulnerabilities-in-microsoft-windows-smb-server-could-allow-for-remote-code-execution/
source_name: Ars Technica VMWare Code Execution Vulnerability 2021
description: Dan Goodin . (2021, February 25). Code-execution flaw in VMware has a severity rating of 9.8 out of 10. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
url: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/02/armed-with-exploits-hackers-on-the-prowl-for-a-critical-vmware-vulnerability/
source_name: NVD CVE-2016-6662
description: National Vulnerability Database. (2017, February 2). CVE-2016-6662 Detail. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
url: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6662
source_name: NVD CVE-2017-0176
description: National Vulnerability Database. (2017, June 22). CVE-2017-0176 Detail. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
url: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-0176
source_name: NVD CVE-2014-7169
description: National Vulnerability Database. (2017, September 24). CVE-2014-7169 Detail. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
url: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-7169
object_marking_refs: marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168
modified: 2025-10-24T17:49:09.112Z
name: Exploitation of Remote Services
description: Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network. Exploitation of a software vulnerability occurs when an adversary takes advantage of a programming error in a program, service, or within the operating system software or kernel itself to execute adversary-controlled code. A common goal for post-compromise exploitation of remote services is for lateral movement to enable access to a remote system.

An adversary may need to determine if the remote system is in a vulnerable state, which may be done through [Network Service Discovery](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1046) or other Discovery methods looking for common, vulnerable software that may be deployed in the network, the lack of certain patches that may indicate vulnerabilities, or security software that may be used to detect or contain remote exploitation. Servers are likely a high value target for lateral movement exploitation, but endpoint systems may also be at risk if they provide an advantage or access to additional resources.

There are several well-known vulnerabilities that exist in common services such as SMB(Citation: CIS Multiple SMB Vulnerabilities) and RDP(Citation: NVD CVE-2017-0176) as well as applications that may be used within internal networks such as MySQL(Citation: NVD CVE-2016-6662) and web server services.(Citation: NVD CVE-2014-7169)(Citation: Ars Technica VMWare Code Execution Vulnerability 2021) Additionally, there have been a number of vulnerabilities in VMware vCenter installations, which may enable threat actors to move laterally from the compromised vCenter server to virtual machines or even to ESXi hypervisors.(Citation: Broadcom VMSA-2024-0019)

Depending on the permissions level of the vulnerable remote service an adversary may achieve [Exploitation for Privilege Escalation](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1068) as a result of lateral movement exploitation as well.
kill_chain_phases: kill_chain_name: mitre-attack
phase_name: lateral-movement
x_mitre_attack_spec_version: 3.2.0
x_mitre_contributors: ExtraHop
x_mitre_deprecated: no
x_mitre_domains: enterprise-attack
x_mitre_is_subtechnique: no
x_mitre_modified_by_ref: identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5
x_mitre_platforms: Linux
Windows
macOS
ESXi
x_mitre_version: 1.2