Network Connection via Recently Compiled Executable

Last updated 6 months ago on 2025-02-04
Created 2 years ago on 2023-08-28

About

This rule monitors a sequence involving a program compilation event followed by its execution and a subsequent network connection event. This behavior can indicate the set up of a reverse tcp connection to a command-and-control server. Attackers may spawn reverse shells to establish persistence onto a target system.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: ExecutionData Source: Elastic DefendLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

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

Command and Control (TA0011)(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
logs-endpoint.events.file*logs-endpoint.events.network*logs-endpoint.events.process*
Related Integrations

endpoint(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
sequence by host.id with maxspan=1m
  [process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and event.action == "exec" and
   process.name in ("gcc", "g++", "cc")] by process.args
  [file where host.os.type == "linux" and event.action == "creation" and process.name == "ld"] by file.name
  [process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and event.action == "exec"] by process.name
  [network where host.os.type == "linux" and event.action == "connection_attempted" and destination.ip != null and not (
     cidrmatch(destination.ip, "127.0.0.0/8", "169.254.0.0/16", "224.0.0.0/4", "::1") or
     process.name in ("simpleX", "conftest", "ssh", "python", "ispnull", "pvtui", "npreal2d", "ruby", "source", "ssh")
   )] by process.name

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Network Connection via Recently Compiled Executable 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).