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ATT&CK techniqueCredential Access

T1552.005 Cloud Instance Metadata API

Credential AccessEnterpriseSub-technique

As of 2026-10-05, T1552.005 (Cloud Instance Metadata API) appears in 53 tracked threats, first reported 2026-02-03 and most recently 2026-10-03, with linked actors including TeamPCP, Mini Shai-Hulud, BonJoviGoesHard; it most often appears alongside T1552.001 (Credentials In Files).

Tracked threats
5333 critical, 17 high, 2 medium
First seen
2026-02-03
Last seen
2026-10-03
Threat actors
9In the threats using it
Detection rules
103Blue tier and above

Data as of:

Activity timeline

T1552.005 first appeared in tracked threats on and was most recently reported on . The busiest month was 2026-05 with 15 reports, and 53 of the 53 threats were reported in the twelve months to 2026-10.

How adversaries use it

T1552.005 Cloud Instance Metadata API is catalogued by MITRE ATT&CK under the Credential Access tactic in the Enterprise matrix, as a sub-technique of T1552 Unsecured Credentials. Threadlinqs maps 53 of 2623 tracked threats (2%) to it; by severity that is 33 critical, 17 high, 2 medium.

Threats that use T1552.005 most often also use T1552.001 Credentials In Files (47 threats), T1528 Steal Application Access Token (39 threats), T1071.001 Web Protocols (37 threats), T1005 Data from Local System (33 threats), T1526 Cloud Service Discovery (30 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.

9 tracked threat actors appear in the threats that use T1552.005; the most frequent are TeamPCP (17), Mini Shai-Hulud (3), BonJoviGoesHard (2), Shai-Hulud (2), GlassWorm (1).

Mitigations

MITRE ATT&CK lists 3 mitigations for T1552.005.

Data sources

Telemetry that can reveal T1552.005, per MITRE ATT&CK.

  • User Account — User Account Authentication

Threat actors using it

Tracked threats

The 30 most recent of 53 tracked threats that use T1552.005.

Detection coverage

Threadlinqs maintains 103 detection rules mapped to T1552.005 (SPL 34, KQL 44, Sigma 25). Rule content is available to Blue tier accounts and above; this page shows counts only.

103 detection rules (SPL/KQL/Sigma) · Blue and above. Compare plans

Parent technique

T1552 Unsecured Credentials — 551 tracked threats at the technique level.