MITRE ATT&CK Technique
Description
Adversaries may use Event Monitor Daemon (emond) to establish persistence by scheduling malicious commands to run on predictable event triggers. Emond is a [Launch Daemon](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1160) that accepts events from various services, runs them through a simple rules engine, and takes action. The emond binary at <code>/sbin/emond</code> will load any rules from the <code>/etc/emond.d/rules/</code> directory and take action once an explicitly defined event takes place. The rule files are in the plist format and define the name, event type, and action to take. Some examples of event types include system startup and user authentication. Examples of actions are to run a system command or send an email. The emond service will not launch if there is no file present in the QueueDirectories path <code>/private/var/db/emondClients</code>, specified in the [Launch Daemon](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1160) configuration file at<code>/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.emond.plist</code>.(Citation: xorrior emond Jan 2018)(Citation: magnusviri emond Apr 2016)(Citation: sentinelone macos persist Jun 2019) Adversaries may abuse this service by writing a rule to execute commands when a defined event occurs, such as system start up or user authentication.(Citation: xorrior emond Jan 2018)(Citation: magnusviri emond Apr 2016)(Citation: sentinelone macos persist Jun 2019) Adversaries may also be able to escalate privileges from administrator to root as the emond service is executed with root privileges by the [Launch Daemon](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1160) service.
Supported Platforms
Created
April 29, 2026
Last Updated
April 29, 2026
STIX Data
{'created': '2019-09-19T14:07:11.734Z',
'created_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
'description': 'Adversaries may use Event Monitor Daemon (emond) to establish '
'persistence by scheduling malicious commands to run on '
'predictable event triggers. Emond is a [Launch '
'Daemon](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1160) that '
'accepts events from various services, runs them through a '
'simple rules engine, and takes action. The emond binary at '
'<code>/sbin/emond</code> will load any rules from the '
'<code>/etc/emond.d/rules/</code> directory and take action '
'once an explicitly defined event takes place. The rule files '
'are in the plist format and define the name, event type, and '
'action to take. Some examples of event types include system '
'startup and user authentication. Examples of actions are to '
'run a system command or send an email. The emond service will '
'not launch if there is no file present in the '
'QueueDirectories path '
'<code>/private/var/db/emondClients</code>, specified in the '
'[Launch Daemon](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1160) '
'configuration file '
'at<code>/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.emond.plist</code>.(Citation: '
'xorrior emond Jan 2018)(Citation: magnusviri emond Apr '
'2016)(Citation: sentinelone macos persist Jun 2019)\n'
'\n'
'Adversaries may abuse this service by writing a rule to '
'execute commands when a defined event occurs, such as system '
'start up or user authentication.(Citation: xorrior emond Jan '
'2018)(Citation: magnusviri emond Apr 2016)(Citation: '
'sentinelone macos persist Jun 2019) Adversaries may also be '
'able to escalate privileges from administrator to root as the '
'emond service is executed with root privileges by the [Launch '
'Daemon](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1160) service.',
'external_references': [{'external_id': 'T1519',
'source_name': 'mitre-attack',
'url': 'https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1519'},
{'description': 'Ross, Chris. (2018, January 17). '
'Leveraging Emond on macOS For '
'Persistence. Retrieved September 10, '
'2019.',
'source_name': 'xorrior emond Jan 2018',
'url': 'https://www.xorrior.com/emond-persistence/'},
{'description': 'Reynolds, James. (2016, April 7). '
'What is emond?. Retrieved September '
'10, 2019.',
'source_name': 'magnusviri emond Apr 2016',
'url': 'http://www.magnusviri.com/Mac/what-is-emond.html'},
{'description': 'Stokes, Phil. (2019, June 17). HOW '
'MALWARE PERSISTS ON MACOS. Retrieved '
'September 10, 2019.',
'source_name': 'sentinelone macos persist Jun 2019',
'url': 'https://www.sentinelone.com/blog/how-malware-persists-on-macos/'}],
'id': 'attack-pattern--d376668f-b208-42de-b1f5-fdfe0ad4b753',
'kill_chain_phases': [{'kill_chain_name': 'mitre-attack',
'phase_name': 'persistence'},
{'kill_chain_name': 'mitre-attack',
'phase_name': 'privilege-escalation'}],
'modified': '2025-10-24T17:49:26.544Z',
'name': 'Emond',
'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_contributors': ['Ivan Sinyakov'],
'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'}