Suspicious Sysctl File Event

Last updated 21 days ago on 2025-12-24
Created 3 years ago on 2023-06-08

About

Monitors file events on sysctl configuration files (e.g., /etc/sysctl.conf, /etc/sysctl.d/*.conf) to identify potential unauthorized access or manipulation of system-level configuration settings. Attackers may tamper with the sysctl configuration files to modify kernel parameters, potentially compromising system stability, performance, or security.
Tags
Data Source: Auditd ManagerOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: DiscoveryRule Type: BBRLanguage: kuery
Severity
low
Risk Score
21
MITRE ATT&CK™

Discovery (TA0007)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

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

Definition

Rule Type
New Terms 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:
host.os.type:linux and event.category:file and event.action:("opened-file" or "read-file" or "wrote-to-file") and file.path : ("/etc/sysctl.conf" or "/etc/sysctl.d" or /etc/sysctl.d/*) and not ( process.name:( dpkg or dockerd or unattended-upg or systemd-sysctl or python* or auditbeat or dpkg or pool* ) or process.executable:( /opt/sophos-spl/plugins/av/bin/* or /usr/bin/pacman or "/usr/lib/dracut/dracut-install" or /var/lib/elastic-agent/* ) )

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Suspicious Sysctl File Event 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).