Linux Service Management Command Usage to Stop or Disable Services
Flags Linux service-control commands with stop/disable intent, while excluding selected benign upgrade and snap workflows.
- Product
- linux
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2022-09-15
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
ImpactRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule flags process executions where the command path ends with common service-control utilities (e.g., service, systemctl, chkconfig) and the command line includes stop or disable operations. Attackers may use these utilities to impair defenses, disrupt services, or hinder security monitoring by stopping or disabling targeted components. It relies on Linux process creation telemetry, including the process image path and command-line arguments, with several filters to reduce known legitimate cases.
Reporting behind it
Changelog
v2- v2Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v1No 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.
title: Linux Service Management Command Usage to Stop or Disable Services
id: f07c42e9-05ab-4d49-8a7a-fc9558f61f29
status: test
description: This rule flags process executions where the command path ends with common service-control utilities (e.g., service, systemctl, chkconfig) and the command line includes stop or disable operations. Attackers may use these utilities to impair defenses, disrupt services, or hinder security monitoring by stopping or disabling targeted components. It relies on Linux process creation telemetry, including the process image path and command-line arguments, with several filters to reduce known legitimate cases.
references:
- https://www.trendmicro.com/pl_pl/research/20/i/the-evolution-of-malicious-shell-scripts.html
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_services_stop_and_disable.yml
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2022-09-15
modified: 2025-03-18
tags:
- attack.defense-impairment
- attack.t1685
- attack.impact
- attack.t1489
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: linux
detection:
selection:
Image|endswith:
- /service
- /systemctl
- /chkconfig
CommandLine|contains:
- " stop "
- " disable "
filter_main_legit_snapd:
Image|endswith: /systemctl
CommandLine|contains:
- --no-reload disable snap-snapd-
- " stop snap-snapd-"
filter_main_ssh_preinstall:
Image|endswith: /systemctl
ParentCommandLine|contains: tmp.ci/preinst upgrade
CommandLine|contains|all:
- " stop "
- ssh.
filter_main_ubuntu_upgrade:
ParentCommandLine|contains: /dpkg/info/ubuntu-pro-client.prerm upgrade
Image|endswith: /systemctl
filter_optional_aws_agent:
Image|endswith: /systemctl
CommandLine|endswith: snap.amazon-ssm-agent.amazon-ssm-agent.service
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*
falsepositives:
- Legitimate administration activities
- Some false positives are to be expected. Apply additional filters as needed before pushing to production.
level: medium
license: DRL-1.1
related:
- id: de25eeb8-3655-4643-ac3a-b662d3f26b6b
type: derived