Linux Auditd Possible Setuid Execve Privesc
The following detects privilege escalation via execve (syscall 59) where a process transitions from a non-root uid to euid=0 without a corresponding successful PAM authentication event (USER_AUTH, USER_ACCT, or…
Description
The following detects privilege escalation via execve (syscall 59) where a process transitions from a non-root uid to euid=0 without a corresponding successful PAM authentication event (USER_AUTH, USER_ACCT, or CRED_ACQ) in the same audit session. Legitimate privilege elevation mechanisms such as sudo, su, and pkexec authenticate through PAM and generate these audit records tied to the session ID before granting elevated privileges. The absence of a matching successful PAM event alongside an effective UID change to root is anomalous and may indicate exploitation of a setuid binary, a kernel vulnerability, or another mechanism used to escalate privileges outside the normal authentication flow.
Detection logic
Detection requirements
- Platform
- ContainersLinuxmacOSWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.
- Log source category
- linux_auditd_execve
Known benign triggers
- Processes with an unset audit session, such as cron jobs, that legitimately drop and reacquire root privileges outside of PAM, may trigger this detection and require filtering.
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| github.com/sgkdev/packet_edit_meme | 3 |
| tuxcare.com/blog/pedit-cow-cve/ | 3 |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- e958e6ee-7c73-4eff-a4d9-43232d719b26
- Tagged by the source as
- Linux Privilege EscalationEndpointendpointSplunk CloudSplunk EnterpriseSplunk Enterprise Securityendpoint
Licence
- Published under
- Apache License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
- Obtained under
- Apache-2.0Read the origin licence
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Aug 26, 2026
- Version
- 1