Hidden File Created in System Directory by Suspicious Process

Last updated 17 days ago on 2026-10-07

Created 17 days ago on 2026-10-07

About

Identifies an executable from a suspicious or writable location creating a hidden file in a system binary, configuration, or library directory. Adversaries may place dot-prefixed files in trusted system locations to conceal payloads, configuration, or persistence artifacts.

Tags

Domain: EndpointOS: LinuxUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: Defense EvasionData Source: Elastic DefendRule Type: Event Correlation (EQL)Platform: LinuxLanguage: eql

Severity

high

Risk Score

MITRE ATT&CK™

Defense Evasion (TA0005)(external, opens in a new tab or window)

↳ Hide Artifacts (T1564)(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: logs-endpoint.events.file*
Related Integrations: endpoint(external, opens in a new tab or window)
Query

✄𐘗text code block:
✄𐘗file where host.os.type == "linux" and event.action in ("rename", "creation") and
process.executable like (
  "/tmp/*", "/var/tmp/*", "/dev/shm/*", "/run/*", "/var/run/*", "/boot/*", "/sys/*", "*/www/html/*",
  "/lost+found/*", "/proc/*", "/var/mail/*", "/var/www/*", "/mnt/*", "/media/*", "*/wp-content/*",
  "*/wp-includes/*", "*/wp-admin/*", "?memfd:*", "memfd:*", "/home/*", "/root/*"
) and
file.name like ".*" and
file.path like (
  "/bin/*", "/usr/bin/*", "/usr/local/bin/*", "/sbin/*", "/usr/sbin/*", "/usr/local/sbin/*", "/etc/*",
  "/lib/*", "/lib32/*", "/lib64/*", "/libx32/*", "/usr/lib/*", "/usr/lib32/*", "/usr/lib64/*",
  "/usr/libx32/*", "/usr/local/lib/*", "/usr/local/lib32/*", "/usr/local/lib64/*", "/usr/local/libx32/*",
  "/libexec/*", "/usr/libexec/*", "/usr/local/libexec/*", "/var/lib/*"
)

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Hidden File Created in System Directory by Suspicious Process 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).