Elastic Security Detection Rules

Attempt to Clear Logs via Journalctl

Last updated a day ago on 2025-10-06
Created 6 days ago on 2025-10-01

About

This rule monitors for attempts to clear logs using the "journalctl" command on Linux systems. Adversaries may use this technique to cover their tracks by deleting or truncating log files, making it harder for defenders to investigate their activities. The rule looks for the execution of "journalctl" with arguments that indicate log clearing actions, such as "--vacuum-time", "--vacuum-size", or "--vacuum-files".
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Defense EvasionData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: Elastic EndgameData Source: Auditd ManagerData Source: CrowdstrikeData Source: SentinelOneLanguage: eql
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

Defense Evasion (TA0005)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Indicator Removal (T1070)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Impair Defenses (T1562)(opens in a new tab or window)

License
Elastic License v2(opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
auditbeat-*endgame-*logs-auditd_manager.auditd-*logs-crowdstrike.fdr*logs-endpoint.events.process*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

auditd_manager(opens in a new tab or window)

crowdstrike(opens in a new tab or window)

sentinel_one_cloud_funnel(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and
event.action in ("exec", "exec_event", "start", "ProcessRollup2", "executed", "process_started") and
process.name == "journalctl" and process.args like ("--vacuum-time=*", "--vacuum-size=*", "--vacuum-files=*")

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Attempt to Clear Logs via Journalctl in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(opens in a new tab or window).