Linux auditd System Information Discovery via uname, uptime, lsmod, hostname, env, and release file reads

Triggers on auditd events showing host enumeration commands and system identity file access on Linux.

FreeReviewedSigma · Low · v3
Product
linux
Service
auditd
Author
Pawel Mazur (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2021-09-03
Updated
2026-07-31

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Lateral Movement

  10. Collection

  11. C2

  12. Exfiltration

  13. Impact

What it detects

This rule flags Linux processes and file access indicative of system information discovery, including reads of common release/issue files and execution of utilities such as uname, uptime, lsmod, hostname, env, and kmod list. It also matches grep output patterns that may reveal virtualization or hypervisor-related strings (e.g., vbox, vm, xen, virtio, hv). These actions can help an attacker profile a host for targeting decisions, and the detection relies on auditd telemetry for file PATH access and execve command arguments.

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Linux auditd System Information Discovery via uname, uptime, lsmod, hostname, env, and release file reads
Pivot detection · T1082 · 9 related

Changelog

v3
  1. v3
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  3. 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.