Hosts File Modified

Last updated 5 days ago on 2026-01-29
Created 6 years ago on 2020-07-07

About

The hosts file on endpoints is used to control manual IP address to hostname resolutions. The hosts file is the first point of lookup for DNS hostname resolution so if adversaries can modify the endpoint hosts file, they can route traffic to malicious infrastructure. This rule detects modifications to the hosts file on Microsoft Windows, Linux (Ubuntu or RHEL) and macOS systems.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: LinuxOS: WindowsOS: macOSUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: ImpactData Source: Elastic DefendLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Impact (TA0040)(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
auditbeat-*winlogbeat-*logs-endpoint.events.*logs-windows.*
Related Integrations

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

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

Query
text code block:
any where process.executable != null and /* file events for creation; file change events are not captured by some of the included sources for linux and so may miss this, which is the purpose of the process + command line args logic below */ ( event.category == "file" and event.type in ("change", "creation") and event.action != "rename" and file.path : ("/private/etc/hosts", "/etc/hosts", "?:\\Windows\\System32\\drivers\\etc\\hosts") and not process.name in ("dockerd", "rootlesskit", "podman", "crio") and not process.executable : ("C:\\Program Files\\Fortinet\\FortiClient\\FCDBLog.exe", "C:\\Program Files\\Fortinet\\FortiClient\\FortiWF.exe", "C:\\Program Files\\Fortinet\\FortiClient\\fmon.exe", "C:\\Program Files\\Seqrite\\Seqrite\\SCANNER.EXE", "C:\\Windows\\System32\\SearchProtocolHost.exe", "C:\\Windows\\Temp\\*.ins\\inst.exe", "C:\\Windows\\System32\\svchost.exe", "C:\\Program Files\\NordVPN\\nordvpn-service.exe", "C:\\Program Files\\Tailscale\\tailscaled.exe", "C:\\Program Files\\Docker\\Docker\\com.docker.service", "C:\\Program Files\\Docker\\Docker\\InstallerCli.exe", "C:\\Program Files\\Quick Heal\\Quick Heal AntiVirus Pro\\scanner.exe", "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Quick Heal AntiVirus Pro\\SCANNER.EXE", "C:\\Program Files\\Quick Heal\\Quick Heal Internet Security\\scanner.exe", "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Cisco\\Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client\\vpnagent.exe", "/opt/IBM/InformationServer/Server/DSEngine/bin/uvsh", "/usr/local/demisto/server", "/usr/local/bin/defender") ) or /* process events for change targeting linux only */ ( event.category == "process" and event.type in ("start") and process.name in ("nano", "vim", "vi", "emacs", "echo", "sed") and (process.args : ("/etc/hosts") or (process.working_directory == "/etc" and process.args == "hosts")) and not process.parent.name in ("dhclient-script", "google_set_hostname") and not process.command_line == "sed -i /Added by Google/d /etc/hosts" )

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Hosts File Modified 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).