Testing Initial Access with Generate-Macro in Atomic Red Team
Using Atomic Red Team's macro generation capabilities to test initial access defenses against malicious Office documents.
Originally published on Red Canary Blog
Read the full article: Testing Initial Access with Generate-Macro
The Challenge
Initial access via malicious Office macros remains one of the most common attack vectors. Testing defenses against macro-based attacks requires:
- Realistic malicious documents
- Various obfuscation techniques
- Different payload types
- Safe testing environments
Generate-Macro Solution
Atomic Red Team includes Generate-Macro, a tool for creating test macro documents that:
- Generate realistic malicious macros
- Support multiple payload types
- Include various obfuscation techniques
- Create safe, controlled test artifacts
Testing Scenarios
Basic Macro Execution
Test detection of simple macro execution with command execution.
Obfuscated Macros
Validate detection of obfuscated macro content and execution.
Download Cradles
Test detection of macros downloading additional payloads.
Persistence Mechanisms
Verify detection of macros establishing persistence.
Detection Opportunities
Macro-based attacks provide multiple detection points:
- Macro execution warnings
- Process creation from Office applications
- Network connections from Office processes
- File writes to suspicious locations
- Registry modifications
Best Practices
Safe Testing
- Use isolated test environments
- Disable actual payload execution when possible
- Clean up artifacts after testing
- Document test execution
Comprehensive Coverage
Test multiple scenarios:
- Different Office versions
- Various macro obfuscation levels
- Multiple payload types
- Different execution contexts
Read the full guide: Testing Initial Access with Generate-Macro
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