Linux doas Command Execution Identified

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → Defense Evasion

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
- T1548Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
Defense Evasion
- T1548Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule identifies process executions of the doas utility on Linux systems by matching process image paths that end with /doas. doas enables non-root users to run commands with elevated privileges, making its use a key step in privilege escalation workflows. Detection relies on process creation telemetry that includes the executed image path.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1548 — drag to rearrange

Suspicious User Home Directory Modification via dscl Process Creation

Possible GTFOBins Shell Breakout via apt Command

Malicious Update Orchestrator Service Reconfiguration for Privilege Escalation

Malicious macOS Credential Verification via dscl authonly

Malicious setcap Assigning cap_sys_admin for GameOverlay Privilege Escalation (via process_creation)

Suspicious AWS GetFederationToken Console Access by JavaGhost (via cloudtrail)

Linux: Detect changes to fs.suid_dumpable enabling core dumps for SUID processes

Linux setcap sets cap_setgid on binaries (Setgid capability assignment)

Linux setcap sets cap_setuid on a binary via setcap utility

Linux doas Command Execution Identified

Pivot detection · T1548 · 9 related

Changelog

v3

v3
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v1
No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.

linux-doas-tool-execution-process-creation-067d8238

title: Linux doas Command Execution Identified
id: 961fa300-5f7e-4932-a78e-9fad1d6f0201
status: stable
description: This rule identifies process executions of the doas utility on Linux systems by matching process image paths that end with /doas. doas enables non-root users to run commands with elevated privileges, making its use a key step in privilege escalation workflows. Detection relies on process creation telemetry that includes the executed image path.
references:
  - https://research.splunk.com/endpoint/linux_doas_tool_execution/
  - https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-install-and-use-doas/
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_doas_execution.yml
author: Sittikorn S, Teoderick Contreras, Huntrule Team
date: 2022-01-20
tags:
  - attack.privilege-escalation
  - attack.t1548
logsource:
  product: linux
  category: process_creation
detection:
  selection:
    Image|endswith: /doas
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unlikely
level: low
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: 067d8238-7127-451c-a9ec-fa78045b618b
    type: derived

Convert

This rule as a query you can run. Uses no unlock credit.

SplunkSPL