Sigma rule: History File Deletion

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-291008c3235f, updated 2022-09-15T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
History File Deletion
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-06-20
Modified
2022-09-15
File
rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_susp_history_delete.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects events in which a history file gets deleted, e.g. the ~/bash_history to remove traces of malicious activity

Log source

product
linux
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith:
        - '/rm'
        - '/unlink'
        - '/shred'
selection_history:
    - CommandLine|contains:
          - '/.bash_history'
          - '/.zsh_history'
    - CommandLine|endswith:
          - '_history'
          - '.history'
          - 'zhistory'
condition: all of selection*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate administration activities

Tags

  • attack.impact
  • attack.t1565.001

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_susp_history_delete.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "History File Deletion" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_susp_history_delete.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: History File Deletion",
entity page, dataset version ref-291008c3235f, updated 2022-09-15T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/1182f3b3-e716-4efa-99ab-d2685d04360f (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 1182f3b3-e716-4efa-99ab-d2685d04360f, 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.