CAPEC-511
Infiltration of Software Development Environment
An attacker uses common delivery mechanisms such as email attachments or removable media to infiltrate the IDE (Integrated Development Environment) of a victim manufacturer with the intent of implanting malware allowing for attack control of the victim IDE environment. The attack then uses this access to exfiltrate sensitive data or information, manipulate said data or information, and conceal these actions. This will allow and aid the attack to meet the goal of future compromise of a recipient of the victim's manufactured product further down in the supply chain.
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Explain the attack pattern CAPEC-511: Infiltration of Software Development Environment: how it unfolds, what it needs and how to prevent and detect it in my systems. Use https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/511.html and https://cve.bz/cve/capec/511?via=ask-ai-copy, which lists recent CVEs with the weaknesses it exploits. Cite the sources.Opens a third-party assistant; its answer is its own, not cve.bz's. The prompt holds only this attack pattern's id and public links.
Prerequisites
The victim must use email or removable media from systems running the IDE (or systems adjacent to the IDE systems).
The victim must have a system running exploitable applications and/or a vulnerable configuration to allow for initial infiltration.
The attacker must have working knowledge of some if not all of the components involved in the IDE system as well as the infrastructure.
Skills required
- Medium skill
Intelligence about the manufacturer's operating environment and infrastructure.
- High skill
Ability to develop, deploy, and maintain a stealth malicious backdoor program remotely in what is essentially a hostile environment.
- High skill
Development skills to construct malicious attachments that can be used to exploit vulnerabilities in typical desktop applications or system configurations. The malicious attachments should be crafted well enough to bypass typical defensive systems (IDS, anti-virus, etc)
Mitigations
Avoid the common delivery mechanisms of adversaries, such as email attachments, which could introduce the malware.
Related attack patterns
- Part of
- CAPEC-444 Development Alteration
Examples
The attacker, knowing the victim runs email on a system adjacent to the IDE system, sends a phishing email wi…
The attacker, knowing the victim runs email on a system adjacent to the IDE system, sends a phishing email with a malicious attachment to the victim. When viewed, the malicious attachment installs a backdoor that allows the attacker to remotely compromise the adjacent IDE system from the victim's workstation. The attacker is then able to exfiltrate sensitive data about the software being developed on the IDE system.
Using rogue versions of Xcode (Apple's app development tool) downloaded from third-party websites, it was pos…
Using rogue versions of Xcode (Apple's app development tool) downloaded from third-party websites, it was possible for the adversary to insert malicious code into legitimate apps during the development process.
MITRE's words, unchanged: CAPEC-511 at MITRE. CAPEC is Copyright © 2007–2026, The MITRE Corporation, used under the CAPEC terms of use: “The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC™) for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE’s copyright designation and this license in any such copy.” CAPEC and the CAPEC logo are trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. Credits. All attack patterns.