Elastic Security Detection Rules

Unusual Pkexec Execution

Last updated 8 days ago on 2025-01-23
Created 15 days ago on 2025-01-16

About

This rule detects the execution of the `pkexec` command by a shell process. The `pkexec` command is used to execute programs as another user, typically as the superuser. Through the `new_terms` rule type, unusual executions of `pkexec` are identified, and may indicate an attempt to escalate privileges or perform unauthorized actions on the system.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: ExecutionTactic: PersistenceData Source: Elastic EndgameData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: CrowdstrikeData Source: SentinelOneLanguage: kuery
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

Execution (TA0002)(opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059)(opens in a new tab or window)

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

↳ Create or Modify System Process (T1543)(opens in a new tab or window)

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

Definition

Rule Type
New Terms Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-endpoint.events.process*endgame-*logs-crowdstrike.fdr*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*
Related Integrations

endpoint(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
event.category:process and host.os.type:linux and event.type:start and
event.action:(exec or exec_event or start or ProcessRollup2) and process.name:pkexec and
process.args:pkexec and process.parent.name:(bash or dash or sh or tcsh or csh or zsh or ksh or fish)

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Unusual Pkexec Execution 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).