Malicious Read Access to the Linux Shadow Password File (via process_creation)
- Product
- linux
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-09-02
- Updated
- 2026-09-02
ATT&CK techniques
Cred AccessRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule detects a shell or file utility reading /etc/shadow, the file holding Linux password hashes, which adversaries copy to crack credentials offline. OS credential access on Linux hosts supports the lateral movement and escalation documented in the Red Canary Threat Detection Report. Because /etc/shadow is normally accessed only by system authentication components, ad-hoc reads by cat, cp or editors are a strong credential-theft indicator.
Reporting behind it
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
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