Linux Auditd Osquery Service Stop

SPLUNK detection rule by Teoderick Contreras, Splunk · Apache-2.0

The following analytic detects suspicious stopping of the `osquery` service, which may indicate an attempt to disable monitoring and evade detection. `Osquery` is a powerful tool used for querying system information and detecting anomalies, and stopping its service can be a sign that an attacker is trying to disrupt security monitoring or hide malicious activities. By monitoring for unusual or unauthorized stops of the `osquery` service, this analytic helps identify potential efforts to bypass security controls, enabling security teams to investigate and respond to possible threats effectively.

name: Linux Auditd Osquery Service Stop
id: 0c320fea-6e87-4b99-a884-74d09d4b655d
version: 10
creation_date: '2024-08-12'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: Anomaly
description: The following analytic detects suspicious stopping of the `osquery` service, which may indicate an attempt to disable monitoring and evade detection. `Osquery` is a powerful tool used for querying system information and detecting anomalies, and stopping its service can be a sign that an attacker is trying to disrupt security monitoring or hide malicious activities. By monitoring for unusual or unauthorized stops of the `osquery` service, this analytic helps identify potential efforts to bypass security controls, enabling security teams to investigate and respond to possible threats effectively.
data_source:
    - Linux Auditd Service Stop
search: |-
    `linux_auditd` type=SERVICE_STOP unit IN ("osqueryd")
      | rename host as dest
      | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
        BY type pid comm
           exe unit dest
      | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
      | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
      | `linux_auditd_osquery_service_stop_filter`
how_to_implement: To implement this detection, the process begins by ingesting auditd data, that consist SYSCALL, TYPE, EXECVE and PROCTITLE events, which captures command-line executions and process details on Unix/Linux systems. These logs should be ingested and processed using Splunk Add-on for Unix and Linux (https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/833), which is essential for correctly parsing and categorizing the data. The next step involves normalizing the field names  to match the field names set by the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to ensure consistency across different data sources and enhance the efficiency of data modeling. This approach enables effective monitoring and detection of linux endpoints where auditd is deployed
known_false_positives: Administrator or network operator can use this application for automation purposes. Please update the filter macros to remove false positives.
references:
    - https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/security/deep-dive-on-persistence-privilege-escalation-technique-and-detection-in-linux-platform.html
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$dest$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  dest = "$dest$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: 7d
      latest_offset: "0"
intermediate_findings:
    entities:
        - field: dest
          type: system
          score: 20
          message: A service event - [$type$] event occurred on host - [$dest$] to stop the osquery service.
analytic_story:
    - Linux Living Off The Land
    - Linux Privilege Escalation
    - Linux Persistence Techniques
    - Compromised Linux Host
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
    - T1489
product:
    - Splunk Enterprise
    - Splunk Enterprise Security
    - Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1489/linux_auditd_osquerd_service_stop/linux_auditd_osquerd_service_stop.log
          source: auditd
          sourcetype: auditd
      test_type: unit

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e7781632-9104-4582-9288-6eed8423510a

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Executable code, not a declarative rule

This submission is arbitrary [[ currentRule.format ? currentRule.format.toUpperCase() : '' ]] code, not a declarative detection rule — review it as you would any script before running it, and note that it cannot be safely aggregated or auto-executed alongside YARA/Sigma/Suricata/CRS rules.

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Format & documentation suggestions

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