Suspicious WordPress Web Shell Drop in Plugins Directory (via file_event)
- Product
- linux
- Category
- file_event
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-05-22
- Updated
- 2026-08-28
ATT&CK techniques
PersistenceRecon
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 creation of a PHP web shell file whose name contains shell inside the WordPress plugins directory, matching the compromised-container forensics case that recovered a rshell.php web shell. Attackers drop such files to keep code-execution access to a web application. A shell-named PHP file written under wp-content plugins is a strong web shell 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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