GenAI CLI Started with Unsafe Permission Bypass

[metadata]
creation_date = "2026/06/24"
integration = ["endpoint"]
maturity = "production"
updated_date = "2026/07/06"

[rule]
author = ["Elastic"]
description = """
Identifies GenAI agent CLIs started with permission-bypass or auto-approval flags that disable human-in-the-loop
guardrails. These modes are intended for isolated sandboxes but are frequently misused on internet-connected developer
workstations, allowing prompt injection, compromised dependencies, or malicious skills to execute commands, modify
files, or reach sensitive paths without confirmation.
"""
from = "now-9m"
index = ["logs-endpoint.events.process-*"]
language = "eql"
license = "Elastic License v2"
name = "GenAI CLI Started with Unsafe Permission Bypass"
note = """## Triage and analysis

### Investigating GenAI CLI Started with Unsafe Permission Bypass

GenAI coding agents normally prompt before running shell commands or editing files. Vendor-supplied bypass flags remove
those controls entirely or auto-approve all tool calls. On a networked host this materially increases blast radius from
prompt injection, poisoned MCP servers, malicious project configs, and autonomous agent workflows.

### Possible investigation steps

- Identify which GenAI tool and bypass flag were used from `process.command_line` and `process.executable`.
- Determine whether the session was intentional (CI/CD, isolated lab VM) or an interactive developer workstation.
- Review child processes spawned after startup for credential access, network exfiltration, or persistence.
- Check for recent GenAI config changes (MCP servers, skills, `.claude/settings.json`, `~/.codex/config.toml`).
- Correlate with other GenAI-related alerts on the same host and user.

### False positive analysis

- Deliberate use in approved sandbox/CI images with no outbound network access.
- Internal automation scripts that wrap GenAI CLIs with bypass flags; scope exceptions by host or user group.
- Each matching process start produces one alert; habitual bypass use in CI or developer workflows may need host or user exceptions.

### Response and remediation

- Remove bypass flags from scripts, shell profiles, and CI job definitions; use default or plan-only permission modes.
- Rotate API keys and cloud credentials accessible to the user account that ran the agent.
- Audit GenAI tool configs and MCP servers loaded during the session.
- Restrict GenAI agent usage policies to disallow permission bypass on production endpoints.
"""
references = [
    "https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permission-modes",
    "https://developers.openai.com/codex/cli/reference",
    "https://developers.openai.com/codex/agent-approvals-security",
    "https://google-gemini.github.io/gemini-cli/docs/get-started/configuration.html",
    "https://specterops.io/blog/2025/11/21/an-evening-with-claude-code/",
]
risk_score = 47
rule_id = "c1326e45-6d3c-4a2d-9882-606a0c310299"
severity = "medium"
tags = [
    "Domain: Endpoint",
    "OS: Linux",
    "OS: macOS",
    "OS: Windows",
    "Use Case: Threat Detection",
    "Tactic: Defense Evasion",
    "Data Source: Elastic Defend",
    "Resources: Investigation Guide",
    "Domain: LLM",
]
timestamp_override = "event.ingested"
type = "eql"

query = '''
process where event.type == "start" and event.action in ("exec", "start") and
(
  (
    process.args in (
      "--dangerously-skip-permissions",
      "--allow-dangerously-skip-permissions",
      "--permission-mode=bypassPermissions"
    ) or
    (process.args == "--permission-mode" and process.args == "bypassPermissions")
  ) and
  (
    process.name in ("claude", "claude.exe") or
    process.executable : (
      "*/.local/share/claude/versions/*",
      "*/.claude/downloads/*",
      "*Caskroom/claude-code/*",
      "*\\Claude\\versions\\*"
    ) or
    (process.name in ("node", "node.exe") and process.args : "*@anthropic-ai/claude-code*")
  )
) or
(
  (
    process.args in ("--dangerously-bypass-approvals-and-sandbox", "--full-auto", "--yolo") or
    process.command_line : (
      "* -s danger-full-access*",
      "*--sandbox danger-full-access*",
      "*--sandbox=danger-full-access*",
      "*--ask-for-approval never*",
      "*--ask-for-approval=never*"
    )
  ) and
  (
    process.name in (
      "codex", "codex.exe", "codex-exec",
      "codex-aarch64-apple-darwin", "codex-x86_64-apple-darwin",
      "codex-linux-arm64", "codex-linux-x64"
    ) or
    (process.name in ("node", "node.exe") and process.args : ("*@openai/codex*", "*/codex", "*\\codex*"))
  )
) or
(
  (
    process.args in ("--yolo", "-y") or
    (process.args == "--approval-mode" and process.args == "yolo") or
    process.args == "--approval-mode=yolo"
  ) and
  (
    process.name in ("gemini", "gemini-cli", "gemini.exe", "gemini-cli.exe") or
    (process.name in ("node", "node.exe") and process.args : ("*@google/gemini-cli*", "*/gemini", "*\\gemini*"))
  )
) or
(
  (
    process.args in (
      "--yolo",
      "--autopilot",
      "--allow-all",
      "--allow-all-tools",
      "--allow-all-paths",
      "--allow-all-urls"
    )
  ) and
  (
    process.name in ("copilot", "copilot.exe") or
    (process.name in ("node", "node.exe") and process.args : ("*@github/copilot*", "*/copilot", "*\\copilot*"))
  )
) or
(
  process.args == "--dangerously-skip-permissions" and
  (
    process.name in ("opencode", "opencode.exe", ".opencode") or
    process.executable : ("*opencode-ai*", "*\\.opencode*") or
    (process.name in ("node", "node.exe") and process.args : ("*opencode-ai*", "*/opencode", "*\\opencode*"))
  )
)
'''


[[rule.threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
[[rule.threat.technique]]
id = "T1562"
name = "Impair Defenses"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1562/"
[[rule.threat.technique.subtechnique]]
id = "T1562.001"
name = "Disable or Modify Tools"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1562/001/"



[rule.threat.tactic]
id = "TA0005"
name = "Defense Evasion"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0005/"