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Attack Patterns T1016.002 — Wi-Fi Discovery
T1016.002

Wi-Fi Discovery

Discovery
TLP:CLEAR

Description

Adversaries may search for information about Wi-Fi networks, such as network names and passwords, on compromised systems. Adversaries may use Wi-Fi information as part of Account Discovery, Remote System Discovery, and other discovery or Credential Access activity to support both ongoing and future campaigns. Adversaries may collect various types of information about Wi-Fi networks from hosts. For example, on Windows names and passwords of all Wi-Fi networks a device has previously connected to may be available through `netsh wlan show profiles` to enumerate Wi-Fi names and then `netsh wlan show profile “Wi-Fi name” key=clear` to show a Wi-Fi network’s corresponding password.(Citation: BleepingComputer Agent Tesla steal wifi passwords)(Citation: Malware Bytes New AgentTesla variant steals WiFi credentials)(Citation: Check Point APT35 CharmPower January 2022) Additionally, names and other details of locally reachable Wi-Fi networks can be discovered using calls to `wlanAPI.dll` Native API functions.(Citation: Binary Defense Emotes Wi-Fi Spreader) On Linux, names and passwords of all Wi-Fi-networks a device has previously connected to may be available in files under ` /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/`.(Citation: Wi-Fi Password of All Connected Networks in Windows/Linux) On macOS, the password of a known Wi-Fi may be identified with ` security find-generic-password -wa wifiname` (requires admin username/password).(Citation: Find Wi-Fi Password on Mac)

MITRE ATT&CK Detection Strategies
1

DET0464 Behavioral Detection of Wi-Fi Discovery Activity
AN1281 Linux

File access to NetworkManager connection configs and attempts to read PSK credentials from `/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/*`.

auditd:PATH auditd:EXECVE
AN1280 Windows

Enumeration of saved Wi-Fi profiles and cleartext password retrieval using `netsh wlan` or API-level access to `wlanAPI.dll`.

WinEventLog:Sysmon WinEventLog:PowerShell
AN1282 macOS

Use of the `security` command or Keychain API to extract known Wi-Fi passwords for target SSIDs.

macos:unifiedlog

Details

Platforms
Linux
Windows
Macos
Added
May 2, 2026
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