analyzing-persistence-mechanisms-in-linux
$
npx mdskill add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills/analyzing-persistence-mechanisms-in-linuxScan Linux systems for persistence mechanisms using auditd and integrity checks.
- Identifies crontab, systemd, LD_PRELOAD, and SSH backdoor configurations.
- Depends on auditd logs and file integrity monitoring data.
- Correlates timestamps and file changes to build attack timelines.
- Outputs structured detection findings for SOC analysts and threat hunters.
SKILL.md
.github/skills/analyzing-persistence-mechanisms-in-linuxView on GitHub ↗
--- name: analyzing-persistence-mechanisms-in-linux description: Detect and analyze Linux persistence mechanisms including crontab entries, systemd service units, LD_PRELOAD hijacking, bashrc modifications, and authorized_keys backdoors using auditd and file integrity monitoring domain: cybersecurity subdomain: threat-hunting tags: [linux-persistence, crontab, systemd, ld-preload, auditd, threat-hunting, incident-response] mitre_attack: ["T1053.003", "T1543.002", "T1574.006", "T1546.004"] version: "1.0" author: mahipal license: Apache-2.0 --- # Analyzing Persistence Mechanisms in Linux ## Overview Adversaries establish persistence on Linux systems through crontab jobs, systemd service/timer units, LD_PRELOAD library injection, shell profile modifications (.bashrc, .profile), SSH authorized_keys backdoors, and init script manipulation. This skill scans for all known persistence vectors, checks file timestamps and integrity, and correlates findings with auditd logs to build a timeline of persistence installation. ## When to Use - When investigating security incidents that require analyzing persistence mechanisms in linux - When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain - When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type - When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques ## Prerequisites - Root or sudo access on target Linux system (or forensic image) - auditd configured with file watch rules on persistence paths - Python 3.8+ with standard library (os, subprocess, json) - Optional: OSSEC/Wazuh agent for file integrity monitoring alerts ## Steps 1. **Scan Crontab Entries** — Enumerate all user crontabs, /etc/cron.d/, /etc/cron.daily/, and anacron jobs for suspicious commands 2. **Audit Systemd Units** — Check /etc/systemd/system/ and ~/.config/systemd/user/ for non-package-managed service and timer units 3. **Detect LD_PRELOAD Hijacking** — Check /etc/ld.so.preload and LD_PRELOAD environment variable for injected shared libraries 4. **Inspect Shell Profiles** — Scan .bashrc, .bash_profile, .profile, /etc/profile.d/ for injected commands or reverse shells 5. **Check SSH Authorized Keys** — Audit all authorized_keys files for unauthorized public keys with command restrictions 6. **Correlate Auditd Logs** — Search auditd logs for file modification events on persistence paths to build an installation timeline 7. **Generate Persistence Report** — Produce a risk-scored report of all discovered persistence mechanisms ## Expected Output - JSON report of all persistence mechanisms found with risk scores - Timeline of persistence installation from auditd correlation - MITRE ATT&CK technique mapping (T1053, T1543, T1574, T1546) - Remediation commands for each detected persistence mechanism
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