Sigma rule: Shell Execution via Nice - Linux

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-5488a13bdd6f, updated 2024-09-02T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Shell Execution via Nice - Linux
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Li Ling, Andy Parkidomo, Robert Rakowski, Blake Hartstein (Bloomberg L.P.)
Date
2024-09-02
File
rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_nice_shell_execution.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the use of the "nice" utility to execute a shell. Such behavior may be associated with privilege escalation, unauthorized command execution, or to break out from restricted environments.

Log source

product
linux
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith: '/nice'
    CommandLine|endswith:
        - '/bin/bash'
        - '/bin/dash'
        - '/bin/fish'
        - '/bin/sh'
        - '/bin/zsh'
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.discovery
  • attack.t1083

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_nice_shell_execution.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Shell Execution via Nice - Linux" by Li Ling, Andy Parkidomo, Robert Rakowski, Blake Hartstein (Bloomberg L.P.) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_nice_shell_execution.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Shell Execution via Nice - Linux",
entity page, dataset version ref-5488a13bdd6f, updated 2024-09-02T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/093d68c7-762a-42f4-9f46-95e79142571a (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 093d68c7-762a-42f4-9f46-95e79142571a, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.