Suspicious Process Argv0 Masquerade As Kernel Worker via GSOCKET

PremiumReviewedSigma · Medium · v1
Product
linux
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-07-28
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Defense Evasion
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects a process launched with an argv0 spoofed to resemble a kernel worker thread such as a bracketed raid5wq name which the GSOCKET tooling uses to hide its reverse connectivity on Linux hosts. Adversaries masquerade as kernel threads to blend into process listings and evade casual inspection.

Related detections9 linkedT1036 — drag to rearrange
Agent Tesla Persistence via Realtek Named Scheduled Task Batch
Suspicious Interlock Fake Updater Executable Execution
Malicious User Account Created by a Computer Account (via security)
Suspicious Execution of agent.exe From WinSyncDefender AppData Directory (via process_creation)
Malicious Scheduled Task Masquerading as Auto Update via schtasks (via process_creation)
Suspicious Novaservice Binary Executing From Public User Directory (via process_creation)
Malicious DcRAT Payload Masquerading as Mixed Reality.exe via process_creation
Masquerading Machine-Like Local Admin Account Creation Ending With Dollar Sign (via process_creation)
Renamed Computer Account Renamed Without a Trailing $ - CVE-2021-42278/42287 (via security)
Suspicious Process Argv0 Masquerade As Kernel Worker via GSOCKET
Pivot detection · T1036 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.