| ID | Technique | Tactic |
|---|---|---|
| T1548.003 | Sudo and Sudo Caching | Defense Evasion |
Detection: Linux Cpulimit Privilege Escalation
Description
The following analytic detects the use of the 'cpulimit' command with specific flags ('-l', '-f') executed with 'sudo' privileges. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process command-line arguments and execution details. This activity is significant because if 'cpulimit' is granted sudo rights, a user can potentially execute system commands as root, leading to privilege escalation. If confirmed malicious, this could allow an attacker to gain root access, execute arbitrary commands, and fully compromise the affected system.
Search
1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.process="*cpulimit*" AND Processes.process="*-l*" AND Processes.process="*-f*" AND Processes.process="*sudo*" by Processes.action Processes.dest Processes.original_file_name Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.parent_process_guid Processes.parent_process_id Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process_path Processes.process Processes.process_exec Processes.process_guid Processes.process_hash Processes.process_id Processes.process_integrity_level Processes.process_name Processes.process_path Processes.user Processes.user_id Processes.vendor_product
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
5| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
6| `linux_cpulimit_privilege_escalation_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_cpulimit_privilege_escalation_filter | search * |
linux_cpulimit_privilege_escalation_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.
Annotations
MITRE ATT&CK
Kill Chain Phases
NIST
CIS
Threat Actors
Exploitation
DE.AE
CIS 10
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 |
This configuration file applies to all detections of type anomaly. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting.
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
False positives may be present, filter as needed.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message:
An instance of $parent_process_name$ spawning $process_name$ was identified on endpoint $dest$
| Risk Object | Risk Object Type | Risk Score | Threat Objects |
|---|---|---|---|
| dest | system | 20 | parent_process_name, process_name |
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: 9