Name:Linux Auditd Add User Account id:aae66dc0-74b4-4807-b480-b35f8027abb4 version:2 date:2024-09-30 author:Teoderick Contreras, Splunk status:production type:Anomaly Description:The following analytic detects the creation of new user accounts on Linux systems using commands like "useradd" or "adduser." It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process names and command-line executions. This activity is significant as adversaries often create new user accounts to establish persistence on compromised hosts. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to maintain access, escalate privileges, and further compromise the system, posing a severe security risk. Data_source:
-Linux Auditd Proctitle
search:`linux_auditd` `linux_auditd_normalized_proctitle_process`| rename host as dest | where LIKE (process_exec, "%useradd%") OR LIKE (process_exec, "%adduser%") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by process_exec proctitle dest | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`| `linux_auditd_add_user_account_filter`
how_to_implement: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. References: -https://linuxize.com/post/how-to-create-users-in-linux-using-the-useradd-command/ drilldown_searches: name:'View the detection results for - "$dest$"' search:'%original_detection_search% | search dest = "$dest$"' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' name:'View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"' search:'| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") starthoursago=168 | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' tags: analytic_story: - 'Linux Privilege Escalation' - 'Linux Persistence Techniques' - 'Compromised Linux Host' asset_type:Endpoint confidence:50 impact:50 message:A [$process_exec$] event occurred on host - [$dest$] to add a user account. mitre_attack_id: - 'T1136.001' - 'T1136' observable: name:'dest' type:'Endpoint' - role: - 'Victim' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' required_fields: - '_time' - 'proctitle' risk_score:25 security_domain:endpoint