Activity timeline
T1204.003 first appeared in tracked threats on and was most recently reported on . The busiest month was 2026-07 with 5 reports, and 11 of the 11 threats were reported in the twelve months to 2026-09.
How adversaries use it
T1204.003 Malicious Image is catalogued by MITRE ATT&CK under the Execution tactic in the Enterprise matrix, as a sub-technique of T1204 User Execution. Threadlinqs maps 11 of 2623 tracked threats (0.4%) to it; by severity that is 2 critical, 9 high.
Threats that use T1204.003 most often also use T1552.001 Credentials In Files (8 threats), T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information (7 threats), T1071.001 Web Protocols (7 threats), T1195.002 Compromise Software Supply Chain (7 threats), T1528 Steal Application Access Token (7 threats). These are the techniques an intrusion set tends to chain with it, so they are the natural next places to look when it is observed.
3 tracked threat actors appear in the threats that use T1204.003; the most frequent are TeamPCP (4), Shai-Hulud (2), UNC6780 (1).
Mitigations
MITRE ATT&CK lists 4 mitigations for T1204.003.
Data sources
Telemetry that can reveal T1204.003, per MITRE ATT&CK.
- Application Log — Application Log Content
- Command — Command Execution
- Container — Container Creation, Container Start
- Image — Image Creation
- Instance — Instance Creation, Instance Start
Threat actors using it
Tracked threats
11 tracked threats use T1204.003.
- Docker CopyEscape (CVE-2026-17106): docker cp / sbx cp flaw lets malicious containers overwrite host fileshigh
- SleeperGem Supply-Chain Campaign Uses Three Malicious RubyGems Packages to Backdoor Developer Machineshigh
- Counterfeit China-Made USB Drives with Self-Replicating Malware Infect 50+ Japan Ground Self-Defense Force…high
- jscrambler npm Package Supply Chain Compromise (v8.14.0 Malicious Release)high
- Braintree.Net NuGet Typosquat Uses XOR-Obfuscated WebSocket/HTTPS C2 to Exfiltrate Live Payment Card Data…high
- npm Supply Chain Attack: @injectivelabs/sdk-ts v1.20.21 and 17 Sibling Packages Infected with Cryptocurrency…high
- Claude Code MCP Traffic Hijack via Malicious npm postinstall — ~/.claude.json Tampering Proxies MCP…high
- Binding.gyp "Phantom Gyp" Supply Chain Attack (Miasma Worm) Enables CI/CD Worm Propagation Across 57 npm…high
- lightning PyPI Package Compromise — Versions 2.6.2 & 2.6.3 Execute Bun-Based JavaScript Credential Stealer…critical
- Bitwarden CLI npm Supply Chain Compromise (@bitwarden/cli v2026.4.0) — Shai-Hulud: The Third Coming / TeamPCPcritical
- Coordinated supply chain attacks on Checkmarx and Bitwarden developer tools sharing audit.checkmarx.cx C2…high
Detection coverage
Threadlinqs maintains 33 detection rules mapped to T1204.003 (SPL 13, KQL 12, Sigma 8). Rule content is available to Blue tier accounts and above; this page shows counts only.
Parent technique
T1204 User Execution — 571 tracked threats at the technique level.