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Potential Root Effective Shell from Non-Standard Path via Auditd

Elastic Detection Rules

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Summary
Detects Linux process executions where the effective user is root while the real user is non-root, the command line includes the privileged -p flag (commonly used with shells to preserve privileges), and the executable path is outside standard system binary directories. This pattern aligns with abuse of setuid/setgid shells or similar privileged helpers placed in writable or non-standard locations to regain root after local compromise. The rule leverages Auditd Manager data focusing on process events (exec/executed) and maps to MITRE ATT&CK technique T1548.001 (Setuid and Setgid) under T1548 (Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism). It supports triage by inspecting process.executable, process.args, and parent relationships, corroborating user.id vs user.effective.id with login/session context, and cross-referencing on-disk binary attributes (setuid bit, ownership) and related authentication events. False positives include legitimate non-standard wrappers shipped by vendors or hardened images, and potential auditd field mapping discrepancies across versions. Remediation guidance includes isolating the host, quarantining/removing the suspicious binary, auditing all setuid binaries, and considering re-imaging if integrity cannot be established. The rule is intended for Linux hosts via Auditd Manager and requires consistent population of event.action, user.id, user.effective.id, process.args, and process.executable for reliable detection.
Categories
  • Endpoint
  • Linux
Data Sources
  • Process
ATT&CK Techniques
  • T1548
  • T1548.001
Created: 2026-04-24