Linux Pnscan Binary Data Transfer via Command-Line

Flags Linux executions with Pnscan-like arguments indicating binary send/receive data transfer.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2

Product: linux
Category: process_creation
Author: David Burkett (@signalblur) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published: 2024-04-16
Updated: 2026-07-31

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
- T1046Network Service Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

Identifies process executions whose command line includes patterns consistent with Pnscan sending/receiving binary data over the network. Attackers may use tools like Pnscan to move or stage payload contents in a way that blends into network-adjacent activity. The rule relies on Linux process creation telemetry and matches command-line arguments containing repeated hex byte sequences with a W/R indicator.

Reporting behind it

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Linux Pnscan Binary Data Transfer via Command-Line

Pivot detection · T1046 · 9 related

Changelog

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-process-command-lines-showing-pnscan-binary-data-transfer-usage-97de11cd

title: Linux Pnscan Binary Data Transfer via Command-Line
id: 206c78a6-ebe7-432d-94eb-b09651f0c469
status: test
description: Identifies process executions whose command line includes patterns consistent with Pnscan sending/receiving binary data over the network. Attackers may use tools like Pnscan to move or stage payload contents in a way that blends into network-adjacent activity. The rule relies on Linux process creation telemetry and matches command-line arguments containing repeated hex byte sequences with a W/R indicator.
author: David Burkett (@signalblur), Huntrule Team
date: 2024-04-16
references:
  - https://www.cadosecurity.com/blog/spinning-yarn-a-new-linux-malware-campaign-targets-docker-apache-hadoop-redis-and-confluence
  - https://intezer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TeamTNT-Cryptomining-Explosion.pdf
  - https://regex101.com/r/RugQYK/1
  - https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/beddf70a7bab805f0c0b69ac0989db6755949f9f68525c08cb874988353f78a9/content
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_pnscan_binary_cli_pattern.yml
tags:
  - attack.discovery
  - attack.t1046
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: linux
detection:
  selection:
    CommandLine|re: -(W|R)\s?(\s|"|')([0-9a-fA-F]{2}\s?){2,20}(\s|"|')
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - Unknown
level: medium
license: DRL-1.1
related:
  - id: 97de11cd-4b67-4abf-9a8b-1020e670aa9e
    type: derived

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