ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1003.008 | /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow | Credential Access |
T1003 | OS Credential Dumping | Credential Access |
Detection: Linux Possible Access To Credential Files
Description
The following analytic detects attempts to access or dump the contents of /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files on Linux systems. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on processes like 'cat', 'nano', 'vim', and 'vi' accessing these files. This activity is significant as it may indicate credential dumping, a technique used by adversaries to gain persistence or escalate privileges. If confirmed malicious, attackers could obtain hashed passwords for offline cracking, leading to unauthorized access and potential system compromise.
Search
1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.process_name IN("cat", "nano*","vim*", "vi*") AND Processes.process IN("*/etc/shadow*", "*/etc/passwd*") by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.parent_process_name Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
5| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
6| `linux_possible_access_to_credential_files_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source |
---|---|---|---|
Sysmon for Linux EventID 1 | Linux | 'sysmon:linux' |
'Syslog:Linux-Sysmon/Operational' |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
security_content_ctime | convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$) |
linux_possible_access_to_credential_files_filter | search * |
linux_possible_access_to_credential_files_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 Risk Event | True |
Implementation
The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the Processes
node of the Endpoint
data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.
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 commandline $process$ executed on $dest$ | 25 | 50 | 50 |
References
Detection Testing
Test Type | Status | Dataset | Source | Sourcetype |
---|---|---|---|---|
Validation | ✅ Passing | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Unit | ✅ Passing | Dataset | Syslog:Linux-Sysmon/Operational |
sysmon:linux |
Integration | ✅ Passing | Dataset | Syslog:Linux-Sysmon/Operational |
sysmon:linux |
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: 2