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Description

Monitor for and investigate activities that may be associated with a Linux privilege-escalation attack, including unusual processes running on endpoints, schedule task, services, setuid, root execution and more.

  • Product: Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk Cloud
  • Datamodel: Endpoint
  • Last Updated: 2021-12-17
  • Author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
  • ID: b9879c24-670a-44c0-895e-98cdb7d0e848

Narrative

Privilege escalation is a “land-and-expand” technique, wherein an adversary gains an initial foothold on a host and then exploits its weaknesses to increase his privileges. The motivation is simple: certain actions on a Linux machine–such as installing software–may require higher-level privileges than those the attacker initially acquired. By increasing his privilege level, the attacker can gain the control required to carry out his malicious ends. This Analytic Story provides searches to detect and investigate behaviors that attackers may use to elevate their privileges in your environment.

Detections

Name Technique Type
Linux Add Files In Known Crontab Directories Cron, Scheduled Task/Job Anomaly
Linux Add User Account Local Account, Create Account Hunting
Linux At Allow Config File Creation Cron, Scheduled Task/Job Anomaly
Linux At Application Execution At (Linux), Scheduled Task/Job Anomaly
Linux Change File Owner To Root Linux and Mac File and Directory Permissions Modification, File and Directory Permissions Modification Anomaly
Linux Common Process For Elevation Control Setuid and Setgid, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Hunting
Linux Doas Conf File Creation Sudo and Sudo Caching, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Anomaly
Linux Doas Tool Execution Sudo and Sudo Caching, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Anomaly
Linux Edit Cron Table Parameter Cron, Scheduled Task/Job Hunting
Linux File Created In Kernel Driver Directory Kernel Modules and Extensions, Boot or Logon Autostart Execution Anomaly
Linux File Creation In Init Boot Directory RC Scripts, Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts Anomaly
Linux File Creation In Profile Directory Unix Shell Configuration Modification, Event Triggered Execution Anomaly
Linux Insert Kernel Module Using Insmod Utility Kernel Modules and Extensions, Boot or Logon Autostart Execution Anomaly
Linux Install Kernel Module Using Modprobe Utility Kernel Modules and Extensions, Boot or Logon Autostart Execution Anomaly
Linux NOPASSWD Entry In Sudoers File Sudo and Sudo Caching, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Anomaly
Linux Possible Access Or Modification Of sshd Config File SSH Authorized Keys, Account Manipulation Anomaly
Linux Possible Access To Credential Files /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow, OS Credential Dumping Anomaly
Linux Possible Access To Sudoers File Sudo and Sudo Caching, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Anomaly
Linux Possible Append Command To At Allow Config File At (Linux), Scheduled Task/Job Anomaly
Linux Possible Append Command To Profile Config File Unix Shell Configuration Modification, Event Triggered Execution Anomaly
Linux Possible Append Cronjob Entry on Existing Cronjob File Cron, Scheduled Task/Job Hunting
Linux Possible Cronjob Modification With Editor Cron, Scheduled Task/Job Hunting
Linux Possible Ssh Key File Creation SSH Authorized Keys, Account Manipulation Anomaly
Linux Preload Hijack Library Calls Dynamic Linker Hijacking, Hijack Execution Flow TTP
Linux Service File Created In Systemd Directory Systemd Timers, Scheduled Task/Job Anomaly
Linux Service Restarted Systemd Timers, Scheduled Task/Job Anomaly
Linux Service Started Or Enabled Systemd Timers, Scheduled Task/Job Anomaly
Linux Setuid Using Chmod Utility Setuid and Setgid, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Anomaly
Linux Setuid Using Setcap Utility Setuid and Setgid, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Anomaly
Linux Sudo OR Su Execution Sudo and Sudo Caching, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Hunting
Linux Sudoers Tmp File Creation Sudo and Sudo Caching, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Anomaly
Linux Visudo Utility Execution Sudo and Sudo Caching, Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Anomaly

Reference

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