Malicious Reverse Shell via socat

ATT&CK techniques

Execution → C2

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
- T1059.004Unix Shell
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
- T1571Non-Standard Port
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects socat spawning a shell over a TCP connection, a reverse-shell pattern used by the Outlaw Linux malware for remote access. socat invoked with both an EXEC or SYSTEM shell handler and a TCP endpoint is characteristic of interactive command-and-control rather than benign relaying.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious Reverse Shell via socat

Pivot detection · T1059.004 · 9 related

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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