Detection: Linux System Reboot Via System Request Key

Updated Date: 2024-09-30 ID: e1912b58-ed9c-422c-bbb0-2dbc70398345 Author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the execution of the SysReq hack to reboot a Linux system host. It leverages Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) data to identify processes executing the command to pipe 'b' to /proc/sysrq-trigger. This activity is significant as it is an uncommon method to reboot a system and was observed in the Awfulshred malware wiper. If confirmed malicious, this technique could indicate the presence of suspicious processes and potential system compromise, leading to unauthorized reboots and disruption of services.

Search

1
2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where Processes.process_name IN ("dash", "sudo", "bash")  Processes.process =  "* echo b &gt; *" Processes.process = "*/proc/sysrq-trigger" by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.parent_process_name Processes.process_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id Processes.process_guid 
3| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
5| `linux_system_reboot_via_system_request_key_filter`

Data Source

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

Macros Used

Name	Value
security_content_ctime	`convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)`
linux_system_reboot_via_system_request_key_filter	`search *`

linux_system_reboot_via_system_request_key_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
T1529	System Shutdown/Reboot	Impact

KillChainPhase.ACTIONS_ON_OBJECTIVES

NistCategory.DE_CM

Cis18Value.CIS_10

APT37

APT38

Lazarus Group

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 Notable	Yes
Rule Title	`%name%`
Rule Description	`%description%`
Notable Event Fields	user, dest
Creates Risk Event	True

This configuration file applies to all detections of type TTP. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting and generate Notable Events.

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

unknown

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message	Risk Score	Impact	Confidence
a $process_name$ execute sysrq command $process$ to reboot $dest$	49	70	70

The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

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: 3