Elastic Security Detection Rules

Kernel Module Load via insmod

Last updated 4 months ago on 2025-03-20
Created 3 years ago on 2022-07-11

About

Detects the use of the insmod binary to load a Linux kernel object file. Threat actors can use this binary, given they have root privileges, to load a rootkit on a system providing them with complete control and the ability to hide from security products. Manually loading a kernel module in this manner should not be at all common and can indicate suspcious or malicious behavior.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: PersistenceThreat: RootkitData Source: Elastic EndgameData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: Auditd ManagerData Source: SentinelOneLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Persistence (TA0003)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Boot or Logon Autostart Execution (T1547)(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-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)

sentinel_one_cloud_funnel(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and process.name == "insmod" and process.args : "*.ko" and
not process.parent.executable like (
  "/opt/ds_agent/*", "/usr/sbin/veeamsnap-loader", "/opt/TrendMicro/vls_agent/*", "/opt/intel/oneapi/*",
  "/opt/commvault/Base/linux_drv", "/bin/falcoctl"
)

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Kernel Module Load via insmod 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).