T1134.003 - Make and Impersonate Token
Sub-technique
Tactics:
Privilege Escalation Defense Evasion
Privilege Escalation Defense Evasion
Platforms:
Windows
Windows
Detection:
Not specified
Not specified
Description:
Adversaries may make new tokens and impersonate users to escalate privileges and bypass access controls. For example, if an adversary has a username and password but the user is not logged onto the system the adversary can then create a logon session for the user using the `LogonUser` function.(Citation: LogonUserW function) The function will return a copy of the new session's access token and the adversary can use `SetThreadToken` to assign the token to a thread.
This behavior is distinct from [Token Impersonation/Theft](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1134/001) in that this refers to creating a new user token instead of stealing or duplicating an existing one.
This behavior is distinct from [Token Impersonation/Theft](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1134/001) in that this refers to creating a new user token instead of stealing or duplicating an existing one.
Used by Actors (2)
Malware (3)
Metadata
| MITRE ID: | T1134.003 |
| STIX ID: | attack-pattern--8cdeb020-e31e-... |
| Platforms: | Windows |
| Created: | 13/01/2026 17:48 |
| Updated: | 06/03/2026 16:00 |