MITRE ATT&CK Technique
T1564.001Hidden Files and Directories
- First Reported
- Oct 14, 2025
- Latest Reported
- Sep 30, 2026
Official Description
Adversaries may set files and directories to be hidden to evade detection mechanisms. To prevent normal users from accidentally changing special files on a system, most operating systems have the concept of a ‘hidden’ file. These files don’t show up when a user browses the file system with a GUI or when using normal commands on the command line. Users must explicitly ask to show the hidden files either via a series of Graphical User Interface (GUI) prompts or with command line switches (<code>dir /a</code> for Windows and <code>ls –a</code> for Linux and macOS).
On Linux and Mac, users can mark specific files as hidden simply by putting a “.” as the first character in the file or folder name (Citation: Sofacy Komplex Trojan) (Citation: Antiquated Mac Malware). Files and folders that start with a period, ‘.’, are by default hidden from being viewed in the Finder application and standard command-line utilities like “ls”. Users must specifically change settings to have these files viewable.
Files on macOS can also be marked with the UF_HIDDEN flag which prevents them from being seen in Finder.app, but still allows them to be seen in Terminal.app (Citation: WireLurker). On Windows, users can mark specific files as hidden by using the attrib.exe binary. Many applications create these hidden files and folders to store information so that it doesn’t clutter up the user’s workspace. For example, SSH utilities create a .ssh folder that’s hidden and contains the user’s known hosts and keys.
Additionally, adversaries may name files in a manner that would allow the file to be hidden such as naming a file only a “space” character.
Adversaries can use this to their advantage to hide files and folders anywhere on the system and evading a typical user or system analysis that does not incorporate investigation of hidden files.
On Linux and Mac, users can mark specific files as hidden simply by putting a “.” as the first character in the file or folder name (Citation: Sofacy Komplex Trojan) (Citation: Antiquated Mac Malware). Files and folders that start with a period, ‘.’, are by default hidden from being viewed in the Finder application and standard command-line utilities like “ls”. Users must specifically change settings to have these files viewable.
Files on macOS can also be marked with the UF_HIDDEN flag which prevents them from being seen in Finder.app, but still allows them to be seen in Terminal.app (Citation: WireLurker). On Windows, users can mark specific files as hidden by using the attrib.exe binary. Many applications create these hidden files and folders to store information so that it doesn’t clutter up the user’s workspace. For example, SSH utilities create a .ssh folder that’s hidden and contains the user’s known hosts and keys.
Additionally, adversaries may name files in a manner that would allow the file to be hidden such as naming a file only a “space” character.
Adversaries can use this to their advantage to hide files and folders anywhere on the system and evading a typical user or system analysis that does not incorporate investigation of hidden files.
- Tactics
- Stealth
- Platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows
- Parent Technique
- T1564 · Hide Artifacts
- MITRE Version
- 2.0
- Last Modified
- May 12, 2026
Reported Context (2)
- The payload placed self-copies in AppData with super hidden attributes. KMS Auto Abuse Led to Mining, Remote Access Tools and Ransomware-Themed Scareware; APT36 Link Unconfirmed
- Kaiji's gateway.sh overrides common inspection commands and filters their output to hide malware processes and files. Kaiji Malware Analysis Details Linux Persistence and Evasion Techniques
CVE (1)
Malware (3)
Threat Actors (5)
MITRE ATT&CK (16)
Vendors (1)
Products (4)
Tools (2)
Countries (1)
Note: Related entities, including threat actors, malware, CVEs, MITRE ATT&CK techniques, vendors, products, tools, countries, and industries, are shown when they appear in the same reporting. Their presence does not necessarily mean they were targeted, compromised, vulnerable, responsible for the activity, or directly involved in the incident.