Gold Open Source
ExplorePackagesVulnerabilitiesCWEsMCP ServersScan
Login
Gold Open Source

The authoritative source for production-ready open-source components. Every package, container image, AI model, and MCP server undergoes rigorous verification for security, malware, and license compliance.

Explore Gold

  • Explore Everything
  • Packages
  • Gold Certified Packages
  • Container Images
  • AI Models
  • MCP Servers
  • Agent Skills
  • Chip Manufacturers

Security Data & Tools

  • Scan Your Dependencies
  • Trending Threats
  • Threat RSS Feeds
  • CVE Database
  • Actively Exploited (KEV)
  • SGZ Zero-Days
  • CWE Index
  • MITRE ATT&CK
  • Malicious Packages
  • Security Glossary
  • Supply-Chain Report
  • Developers (API & Badge)
  • Chrome Extension
  • Credits & Data Sources

Products

  • The Platform
  • ESSCM
  • Portal
  • TPRM
  • OSM
  • Cowork
  • Code / Runner
  • Guard

Use Cases

  • Know Your Software
  • Auto-Fix Vulnerabilities
  • Asset Discovery
  • AI Governance
  • MCP Server Security
  • Supply Chain Compliance
  • Zero-Day Discovery
  • All Use Cases

Company

  • About
  • Pricing
  • Blog
  • Documentation
  • Safeguard Academy
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

© 2026 Gold Open Source. All rights reserved.

Built with care bySafeguard
Home/ATT&CK/T1562/T1562.003
MITRE ATT&CK Sub-Technique

T1562.003: Impair Command History Logging

ShareXLinkedInRedditHN

Adversaries may impair command history logging to hide commands they run on a compromised system. Various command interpreters keep track of the commands users type in their terminal so that users can retrace what they've done. On Linux and macOS, command history is tracked in a file pointed to by the environment variable <code>HISTFILE</code>. When a user logs off a system, this information is flushed to a file in the user's home directory called <code>~/.bash_history</code>. The <code>HISTCONTROL</code> environment variable keeps track of what should be saved by the <code>history</code> command and eventually into the <code>~/.bash_history</code> file when a user logs out. <code>HISTCONTROL</code> does not exist by default on macOS, but can be set by the user and will be respected. The `HISTFILE` environment variable is also used in some ESXi systems.(Citation: Google Cloud Threat Intelligence ESXi VIBs 2022) Adversaries may clear the history environment variable (<code>unset HISTFILE</code>) or set the command history size to zero (<code>export HISTFILESIZE=0</code>) to prevent logging of commands. Additionally, <code>HISTCONTROL</code> can be configured to ignore commands that start with a space by simply setting it to "ignorespace". <code>HISTCONTROL</code> can also be set to ignore duplicate commands by setting it to "ignoredups". In some Linux systems, this is set by default to "ignoreboth" which covers both of the previous examples. This means that “ ls” will not be saved, but “ls” would be saved by history. Adversaries can abuse this to operate without leaving traces by simply prepending a space to all of their terminal commands. On Windows systems, the <code>PSReadLine</code> module tracks commands used in all PowerShell sessions and writes them to a file (<code>$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt</code> by default). Adversaries may change where these logs are saved using <code>Set-PSReadLineOption -HistorySavePath {File Path}</code>. This will cause <code>ConsoleHost_history.txt</code> to stop receiving logs. Additionally, it is possible to turn off logging to this file using the PowerShell command <code>Set-PSReadlineOption -HistorySaveStyle SaveNothing</code>.(Citation: Microsoft PowerShell Command History)(Citation: Sophos PowerShell command audit)(Citation: Sophos PowerShell Command History Forensics) Adversaries may also leverage a [Network Device CLI](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/008) on network devices to disable historical command logging (e.g. <code>no logging</code>).

Tactics
Stealth
Platforms
ESXi, Linux, macOS, Network Devices, Windows

▪Parent technique

T1562: Impair Defenses

▪Reference

T1562.003on MITRE ATT&CK

MITRE ATT&CK® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. © 2026 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation.