GitHub Repo

Detection: Linux Ghostscript Exploitation

Updated Date: 2026-07-08 ID: 580f99d8-a4c8-4ef1-9c84-f355867bca41 Author: Raven Tait, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects exploitation of Ghostscript causing command execution. This can be used by attackers to abuse file conversion services or embedded LibreOffice documents.

 1
 2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly`
 3  count min(_time) as firstTime
 4        max(_time) as lastTime
 5
 6from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where
 7
 8Processes.parent_process_path IN (
 9    "*/gs",
10    "*/ghostscript"
11)
12Processes.process="sh -c*"
13
14by Processes.process Processes.vendor_product Processes.user_id
15   Processes.process_hash Processes.parent_process_name
16   Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.action Processes.dest
17   Processes.process_current_directory Processes.process_path
18   Processes.process_integrity_level Processes.original_file_name
19   Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_path
20   Processes.parent_process_guid Processes.parent_process_id
21   Processes.process_guid Processes.process_id Processes.user
22   Processes.process_name
23
24
25| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
26
27| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
28
29| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
30
31| `linux_ghostscript_exploitation_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source
Sysmon for Linux EventID 1 Linux icon Linux 'sysmon:linux' 'Syslog:Linux-Sysmon/Operational'

Macros Used

Name Value
security_content_summariesonly summariesonly=summariesonly_config allow_old_summaries=oldsummaries_config fillnull_value=fillnull_config``
linux_ghostscript_exploitation_filter search *
linux_ghostscript_exploitation_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK
+ Kill Chain Phases
+ NIST
+ CIS
- Threat Actors
ID Technique Tactic
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
T1204.002 Malicious File Execution
T1566 Phishing Initial Access
Exploitation
Delivery
Installation
DE.CM
CIS 10

CVE

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting Value
Disabled true
Cron Schedule 0 * * * *
Earliest Time -70m@m
Latest Time -10m@m
Schedule Window auto
Creates Finding (Notable) Yes
Rule Title %name%
Rule Description %description%
Notable Event Fields user, dest
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event) No
TTP detections generate a Finding (Notable) and may generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events) for associated entities.

Implementation

The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the Processes node of the Endpoint data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.

Known False Positives

Legitimate use of Ghostscript for document processing or file conversion tasks may trigger this rule. Filter based on known authorized applications that rely on Ghostscript for routine document handling.

Associated Analytic Story

Finding

Title Entity Field Entity Type Risk Score
Linux Ghostscript exploitation identified via [$process$] by [$user$] on [$dest$] dest system 50

Threat Objects

Field Type
process process
process_name process_name

References

Detection Testing

Test Type Status Dataset Source Sourcetype
Validation ✅ Passing N/A N/A N/A
Unit ✅ Passing Dataset Syslog:Linux-Sysmon/Operational sysmon:linux
Integration ✅ Passing Dataset Syslog:Linux-Sysmon/Operational sysmon:linux

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub |

Version: 1