T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion Technique Explained

Sıla Özeren Hacıoğlu | 2 MIN READ

LAST UPDATED ON FEBRUARY 23, 2026

What Is T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion in MITRE ATT&CK?

Virtualization and Sandbox Evasion (T1497) is a MITRE ATT&CK technique used by adversaries to detect and bypass virtualized or sandboxed environments commonly deployed by security teams for malware analysis and threat detection. By identifying these controlled environments early, attackers can suppress or delay malicious behavior, allowing attacks to progress without triggering security controls.

Adversary Use of T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion

Adversary Use of T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion refers to how threat actors leverage this technique to detect, avoid, and respond to the presence of virtualized analysis environments used by defenders (like sandboxes and VMs) so that their malware can evade detection and analysis.

In practice, adversaries implement Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion by:

Probing the environment for indicators of virtualization or automated analysis, such as VM artifacts in hardware, registry entries, process names, or system configurations.
Altering malware behavior if such indicators are found, for example, by stopping execution, suppressing malicious actions, or delaying payload delivery so that automated tools don’t observe dangerous behavior.
Shaping follow-on actions based on discovery results; malware might avoid dropping secondary payloads or pivoting further if a sandbox is detected.

Because sandboxes and VMs are widely used by malware analysts and automated defenses to safely observe suspicious code, detecting these environments allows attackers to evade detection, delay analysis, and protect their tools from being profiled or blocked by defensive technologies.

In summary, adversaries use T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion to identify when they’re being observed and adapt their behavior to avoid revealing malicious activity, making malware harder to analyze and detect.

Why T1497 Matters: Red Report 2026 Context

In the Red Report 2026, Virtualization and Sandbox Evasion ranked as the fourth most commonly observed technique. After being absent from the Top 10 for the previous two years, its return highlights a clear shift in adversary behavior toward stealth, evasion, and analysis-aware malware. This resurgence elevates T1497 as a priority focus area for defenders and threat analysts monitoring modern attack chains.

Sub-Techniques of T1497 Virtualization/Sandbox Evasion

The Virtualization and Sandbox Evasion technique consists of three sub-techniques in MITRE ATT&CK v18.

This blog serves as a hub page for the T1497 Virtualization and Sandbox Evasion technique within the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Each linked sub-technique page explains how the technique works, details adversary behavior, and includes real-world procedure examples observed in the wild, as documented in the Red Report.