Detection rules › Sigma
Linux Setuid Capability Set on a Binary via Setcap Utility
Detects the use of the 'setcap' utility to set the 'setuid' capability (cap_setuid) on a binary file. This capability allows a non privileged process to make arbitrary manipulations of user IDs (UIDs), including setting its current UID to a value that would otherwise be restricted (i.e. UID 0, the root user). This behavior can be used by adversaries to backdoor a binary in order to escalate privileges again in the future if needed.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Persistence | T1554 Compromise Host Software Binary |
| Privilege Escalation | T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism |
Event coverage
| Provider | Event |
|---|---|
| Sysmon-for-Linux | Event ID 1 |
Rule body yaml
title: Linux Setuid Capability Set on a Binary via Setcap Utility
id: ed447910-bc30-4575-a598-3a2e49516a7a
status: experimental
description: |
Detects the use of the 'setcap' utility to set the 'setuid' capability (cap_setuid) on a binary file.
This capability allows a non privileged process to make arbitrary manipulations of user IDs (UIDs), including setting its current UID to a value that would otherwise be restricted (i.e. UID 0, the root user).
This behavior can be used by adversaries to backdoor a binary in order to escalate privileges again in the future if needed.
references:
- https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man8/setcap.8.html
- https://dfir.ch/posts/linux_capabilities/
- https://juggernaut-sec.com/capabilities/#cap_setuid
author: Luc Génaux
date: 2026-01-24
tags:
- attack.privilege-escalation
- attack.persistence
- attack.t1548
- attack.t1554
logsource:
product: linux
category: process_creation
detection:
selection:
Image|endswith: '/setcap'
CommandLine|contains: 'cap_setuid'
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- Unknown
level: low
Stages and Predicates
Stage 0: condition
selectionStage 1: selection
selection:
Image|endswith: '/setcap'
CommandLine|contains: 'cap_setuid'
Indicators
Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.
| Field | Kind | Values |
|---|---|---|
CommandLine | match |
|
Image | ends_with |
|