During the boot process, macOS executessource /etc/rc.common
, which is a shell script containing various utility functions. This file also defines routines for processing command-line arguments and for gathering system settings, and is thus recommended to include in the start of Startup Item Scripts (Citation: Startup Items). In macOS and OS X, this is now a deprecated technique in favor of launch agents and launch daemons, but is currently still used.Adversaries can use the rc.common file as a way to hide code for persistence that will execute on each reboot as the root user (Citation: Methods of Mac Malware Persistence).
Modify rc.common
Supported Platforms: macOS
echo osascript -e 'tell app "Finder" to display dialog "Hello World"' >> /etc/rc.common