MITRE ATT&CK Technique
Defense Evasion
T1147
Description
Every user account in macOS has a userID associated with it. When creating a user, you can specify the userID for that account. There is a property value in <code>/Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow</code> called <code>Hide500Users</code> that prevents users with userIDs 500 and lower from appearing at the login screen. By using the [Create Account](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1136) technique with a userID under 500 and enabling this property (setting it to Yes), an adversary can hide their user accounts much more easily: <code>sudo dscl . -create /Users/username UniqueID 401</code> (Citation: Cybereason OSX Pirrit).
Supported Platforms
macOS
Created
April 29, 2026
Last Updated
April 29, 2026
STIX Data
{'created': '2017-12-14T16:46:06.044Z',
'created_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
'description': 'Every user account in macOS has a userID associated with it. '
'When creating a user, you can specify the userID for that '
'account. There is a property value in '
'<code>/Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow</code> '
'called <code>Hide500Users</code> that prevents users with '
'userIDs 500 and lower from appearing at the login screen. By '
'using the [Create '
'Account](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1136) technique '
'with a userID under 500 and enabling this property (setting '
'it to Yes), an adversary can hide their user accounts much '
'more easily: <code>sudo dscl . -create /Users/username '
'UniqueID 401</code> (Citation: Cybereason OSX Pirrit).',
'external_references': [{'external_id': 'T1147',
'source_name': 'mitre-attack',
'url': 'https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1147'},
{'description': 'Amit Serper. (2016). Cybereason Lab '
'Analysis OSX.Pirrit. Retrieved '
'December 10, 2021.',
'source_name': 'Cybereason OSX Pirrit',
'url': 'https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/3354902/Content%20PDFs/Cybereason-Lab-Analysis-OSX-Pirrit-4-6-16.pdf'}],
'id': 'attack-pattern--ce73ea43-8e77-47ba-9c11-5e9c9c58b9ff',
'kill_chain_phases': [{'kill_chain_name': 'mitre-attack',
'phase_name': 'defense-evasion'}],
'modified': '2025-10-24T17:49:24.721Z',
'name': 'Hidden Users',
'object_marking_refs': ['marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168'],
'revoked': True,
'spec_version': '2.1',
'type': 'attack-pattern',
'x_mitre_attack_spec_version': '3.2.0',
'x_mitre_deprecated': False,
'x_mitre_detection': '',
'x_mitre_domains': ['enterprise-attack'],
'x_mitre_is_subtechnique': False,
'x_mitre_modified_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
'x_mitre_platforms': ['macOS'],
'x_mitre_version': '1.1'}