Suspicious SUID Binary Execution (Auditd Sequence)

Last updated 4 days ago on 2026-05-08
Created 4 days ago on 2026-05-08

About

Detects suspicious sequences where a non-root user launches a high-risk parent process (interpreter, shell one-liner, or execution from user-writable paths) and then quickly executes a common privilege elevation helper (su, sudo, pkexec, passwd, chsh, newgrp) that gains an effective UID of 0 while the real UID remains non-root. This can indicate misuse of SUID/SGID helpers, polkit/sudo abuse, or interactive privilege escalation attempts captured via Auditd Manager telemetry.
Tags
Data Source: Auditd ManagerDomain: EndpointOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Privilege EscalationLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Privilege Escalation (TA0004)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

False Positive Examples
Some break-glass workflows or automation may legitimately invoke sudo/su from scripts under user home directories. Validate the initiating user, parent context, and change approvals; tune by known admin tooling paths or accounts.
License
Elastic License v2(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
auditbeat-*logs-auditd_manager.auditd-*
Related Integrations

auditd_manager(external, opens in a new tab or window)

Query
text code block:
sequence by host.id with maxspan=30s [process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and event.action == "executed" and user.id != "0" and user.effective.id != "0" and ( process.name like ("python*", "perl*", "ruby*", "php*", "lua*", ".*") or process.name in ("node", "bun", "java") or process.executable like ("/tmp/*", "/var/tmp/*", "/dev/shm/*", "/run/user/*", "/var/run/user/*", "/home/*/*") or ( process.name in ("bash", "dash", "sh", "tcsh", "csh", "zsh", "ksh", "fish", "mksh") and process.args in ("-c", "--command", "-ic", "-ci", "-cl", "-lc") ) ) ] by process.pid [process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and event.action == "executed" and user.effective.id == "0" and user.id != "0" and ( (process.name in ("sudo", "pkexec") and not process.args like "-*" and not process.args : ("/usr/*", "/bin/*", "/sbin/*", "/opt/*")) or (process.name == "su" and not process.args in ("--command", "-c", "--shell", "-s")) or (process.name in ("passwd", "chsh", "newgrp") and not process.args in ("--shell", "-s", "--help")) ) ] by process.parent.pid

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Suspicious SUID Binary Execution (Auditd Sequence) 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(external, opens in a new tab or window).