Netcat File Transfer or Listener Detected via Defend for Containers
This rule detects an established netcat file transfer or listener running inside a container. Netcat is a utility used for reading and writing data across network connections, and it can be used for malicious…
Description
This rule detects an established netcat file transfer or listener running inside a container. Netcat is a utility used for reading and writing data across network connections, and it can be used for malicious purposes such as establishing a backdoor for persistence, exfiltrating data or file transfer.
Detection logic
Its licence does not clear it for publishing here
Sunturai publishes a detection's own text where the licence it arrived under has been reviewed and permits it, and Elastic License 2.0 has not. The query as its source wrote it, its canonical form and the hash that pins this revision are in the workspace record.
Detection requirements
- Platform
- ContainersESXiIaaSIdentity ProviderLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesOffice SuiteSaaSWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the 3 ATT&CK techniques it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
Known benign triggers
- There is a potential for false positives if the container is used for legitimate tasks that require the use of netcat, such as network troubleshooting, testing or system monitoring. It is important to investigate any alerts generated by this rule to determine if they are indicative of malicious activity or part of legitimate container activity.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
No references are available for this detection.
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- a52a9439-d52c-401c-be37-2785235c6547
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: Elastic Defend for ContainersDomain: ContainersNoise: LowOS: LinuxPerformance: FastPlatform: LinuxResources: Investigation GuideRule Type: Event Correlation (EQL)Tactic: ExecutionUse Case: Threat Detection
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3