Suspicious systemd Service Persistence via GRIDTIDE xapt

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
linux
Category
file_event
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-10-12
Updated
2026-10-12

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Defense Evasion

  6. Cred Access

  7. Discovery

  8. Lateral Movement

  9. Collection

  10. C2

  11. Exfiltration

  12. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects creation of a systemd unit file named xapt.service under etc systemd system as used by GRIDTIDE to persist its C backdoor. Attackers install this service so the xapt payload in usr sbin restarts automatically across reboots.

Related detections9 linkedT1543.002 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Python Execution of Fake Sysmon Script From Config Directory
Suspicious Linux Boot Persistence via rc.local or init.d Modification (via file_event)
Malicious systemd-daemon Masquerading Binary Execution on Linux
Suspicious Masquerading systemd Unit display-managerd Creation via File System
Suspicious Systemd Service Unit Written to System Directory (via process_creation)
Suspicious Systemd Service Unit Creation In System Directory
Malicious Systemd Service Persistence via ExecStartPost Hidden Path on Linux
Malicious Koske Persistence via Systemd Service and Shell Profile Hijack (via process_creation)
Suspicious Linux CoinMiner Watchdog Staging in Shared Memory (via process_creation)
Suspicious systemd Service Persistence via GRIDTIDE xapt
Pivot detection · T1543.002 · 9 related

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