Linux Make Privilege Escalation

Original Source: [splunk source]
Name:Linux Make Privilege Escalation
id:80b22836-5091-4944-80ee-f733ac443f4f
version:4
date:2024-09-30
author:Gowthamaraj Rajendran, Splunk
status:production
type:Anomaly
Description:The following analytic detects the use of the 'make' command with elevated privileges to execute system commands as root, potentially leading to a root shell. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on command-line executions that include 'make', '--eval', and 'sudo'. This activity is significant because it indicates a possible privilege escalation attempt, allowing a user to gain root access. If confirmed malicious, an attacker could achieve full control over the system, execute arbitrary commands, and compromise the entire environment.
Data_source:
  • -Sysmon for Linux EventID 1
search:| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.process="*make*-s*" AND Processes.process="*--eval*" AND Processes.process="*sudo*" by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.parent_process_name Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id Processes.process_guid
| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `linux_make_privilege_escalation_filter`


how_to_implement: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.
References:
  -https://gtfobins.github.io/gtfobins/make/
  -https://www.javatpoint.com/linux-make-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 Living Off The Land'
  asset_type:Endpoint
  confidence:50
  impact:40
  message:An instance of $parent_process_name$ spawning $process_name$ was identified on endpoint $dest$
  mitre_attack_id:
    - 'T1548.003'
    - 'T1548'
  observable:
    name:'dest'
    type:'Hostname'
    - role:
      - 'Victim'
    name:'parent_process_name'
    type:'Process'
    - role:
      - 'Attacker'
    name:'process_name'
    type:'Process'
    - role:
      - 'Attacker'
  product:
    - 'Splunk Enterprise'
    - 'Splunk Enterprise Security'
    - 'Splunk Cloud'
  required_fields:
    - '_time'
    - 'Processes.dest'
    - 'Processes.user'
    - 'Processes.parent_process_name'
    - 'Processes.process_name'
    - 'Processes.process'
    - 'Processes.process_id'
    - 'Processes.parent_process_id'
  risk_score:20
  security_domain:endpoint

tests:
name:'True Positive Test'
 attack_data:
  data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1548/make/sysmon_linux.log
  source: Syslog:Linux-Sysmon/Operational
  sourcetype: sysmon:linux
  update_timestamp: True
manual_test:None