Elastic Security Detection Rules

Potential Linux Tunneling and/or Port Forwarding via Command Line

Last updated 2 months ago on 2025-12-12
Created 2 months ago on 2025-12-12

About

This rule monitors for potential tunneling and/or port forwarding activity on Linux systems via command line utilities. Attackers may use various tools to create covert communication channels, allowing them to bypass network security measures and maintain persistent access to compromised systems. By leveraging these utilities, attackers can tunnel traffic through legitimate protocols, making detection more challenging.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Command and ControlData Source: Elastic DefendData Source: Elastic EndgameData Source: CrowdstrikeData Source: SentinelOneData Source: Auditd ManagerLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Command and Control (TA0011)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Protocol Tunneling (T1572)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

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
endgame-*logs-crowdstrike.fdr*logs-endpoint.events.process*logs-sentinel_one_cloud_funnel.*auditbeat-*logs-auditd_manager.auditd-*
Related Integrations

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

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

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

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

Query
text code block:
process where host.os.type == "linux" and event.type == "start" and event.action in ("exec", "exec_event", "start", "ProcessRollup2", "executed", "process_started") and 
process.command_line regex """.*[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}:[0-9]{1,5}:[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}:[0-9]{1,5}.*"""

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Potential Linux Tunneling and/or Port Forwarding via Command Line 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).