ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1548.001 | Setuid and Setgid | Defense Evasion |
T1548 | Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism | Privilege Escalation |
Detection: Linux Auditd Setuid Using Setcap Utility
Description
The following analytic detects the execution of the 'setcap' utility to enable the SUID bit on Linux systems. It leverages Linux Auditd data, focusing on process names and command-line arguments that indicate the use of 'setcap' with specific capabilities. This activity is significant because setting the SUID bit allows a user to temporarily gain root access, posing a substantial security risk. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could escalate privileges, execute arbitrary commands with elevated permissions, and potentially compromise the entire system.
Search
1`linux_auditd` `linux_auditd_normalized_execve_process`
2| rename host as dest
3| where LIKE (process_exec, "%setcap %") AND (LIKE (process_exec, "% cap_setuid+ep %") OR LIKE (process_exec, "% cap_setuid=ep %") OR LIKE (process_exec, "% cap_net_bind_service+p %") OR LIKE (process_exec, "% cap_net_raw+ep %") OR LIKE (process_exec, "% cap_dac_read_search+ep %"))
4| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by argc process_exec dest
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
6| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
7| `linux_auditd_setuid_using_setcap_utility_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
Linux Auditd Execve | Linux | 'linux:audit' |
'/var/log/audit/audit.log' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
linux_auditd | sourcetype="linux:audit" |
linux_auditd_setuid_using_setcap_utility_filter | search * |
linux_auditd_setuid_using_setcap_utility_filter
is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.
Annotations
Default Configuration
This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:
Setting | Value |
---|---|
Disabled | true |
Cron Schedule | 0 * * * * |
Earliest Time | -70m@m |
Latest Time | -10m@m |
Schedule Window | auto |
Creates Notable | Yes |
Rule Title | %name% |
Rule Description | %description% |
Notable Event Fields | user, dest |
Creates Risk Event | True |
Implementation
To implement this detection, the process begins by ingesting auditd data, that consist SYSCALL, TYPE, EXECVE and PROCTITLE events, which captures command-line executions and process details on Unix/Linux systems. These logs should be ingested and processed using Splunk Add-on for Unix and Linux (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/833), which is essential for correctly parsing and categorizing the data. The next step involves normalizing the field names to match the field names set by the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to ensure consistency across different data sources and enhance the efficiency of data modeling. This approach enables effective monitoring and detection of linux endpoints where auditd is deployed
Known False Positives
Administrator or network operator can execute this command. Please update the filter macros to remove false positives.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
A [$process_exec$] event occurred on host - [$dest$] to set the SUID or SGID bit on files using the setcap utility. | 81 | 90 | 90 |
References
Detection Testing
Test Type | Status | Dataset | Source | Sourcetype |
---|---|---|---|---|
Validation | ✅ Passing | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Unit | ✅ Passing | Dataset | /var/log/audit/audit.log |
linux:audit |
Integration | ✅ Passing | Dataset | /var/log/audit/audit.log |
linux:audit |
Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py
tool or the UI.
Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range
Source: GitHub | Version: 1