CyberStack

MITRE ATT&CK / Techniques / T1021.001

Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol

ID
T1021.001
Tactics
TA0008 Lateral Movement
Sub-technique of
T1021 Remote Services
Platforms
Windows
Data sources
Logon Session Creation, Logon Session Metadata, Network Connection Creation, Process Creation
Source
attack.mitre.org
MITRE last modified
12 May 2026

Adversaries may use Valid Accounts to log into a computer using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). The adversary may then perform actions as the logged-on user.

Remote desktop is a common feature in operating systems. It allows a user to log into an interactive session with a system desktop graphical user interface on a remote system. Microsoft refers to its implementation of the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) as Remote Desktop Services (RDS).[3]

Adversaries may connect to a remote system over RDP/RDS to expand access if the service is enabled and allows access to accounts with known credentials. Adversaries will likely use Credential Access techniques to acquire credentials to use with RDP. Adversaries may also use RDP in conjunction with the Accessibility Features or Terminal Services DLL for Persistence.[4]

Detection

Mitigations (8)

M1018 User Account Management

Limit remote user permissions if remote access is necessary.

M1026 Privileged Account Management

Consider removing the local Administrators group from the list of groups allowed to log in through RDP.

M1028 Operating System Configuration

Change GPOs to define shorter timeouts sessions and maximum amount of time any single session can be active. Change GPOs to specify the maximum amount of time that a disconnected session stays active on the RD session host server.[1]

M1030 Network Segmentation

Do not leave RDP accessible from the internet. Enable firewall rules to block RDP traffic between network security zones within a network.

M1032 Multi-factor Authentication

Use multi-factor authentication for remote logins.[2]

M1035 Limit Access to Resource Over Network

Use remote desktop gateways.

M1042 Disable or Remove Feature or Program

Disable the RDP service if it is unnecessary.

M1047 Audit

Audit the Remote Desktop Users group membership regularly. Remove unnecessary accounts and groups from Remote Desktop Users groups.

Groups (39)

Software (18)

References

  1. Windows RDP Sessions
  2. Berkley Secure
  3. TechNet Remote Desktop Services
  4. Alperovitch Malware