Sigma rule: Python WebServer Execution - Linux

Rule

Title

Python WebServer Execution - Linux

Status

experimental

Level

medium

Author

Mohamed LAKRI

Date

2025-10-17

File

rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_python_http_server_execution.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the execution of Python web servers via command line interface (CLI).
After gaining access to target systems, adversaries may use Python's built-in HTTP server modules to quickly establish a web server without requiring additional software.
This technique is commonly used in post-exploitation scenarios as it provides a simple method for transferring files between the compromised host and attacker-controlled systems.

Log source

product

linux

category

process_creation

Detection

selection_img:
    - Image|endswith:
          - '/python'
          - '/python2'
          - '/python3'
    - Image|contains:
          - '/python2.'  # python image is always of the form ../python3.10; ../python is just a symlink
          - '/python3.'
selection_module:
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'http.server'
        - 'SimpleHTTPServer'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Testing or development activity

Tags

• attack.exfiltration
• attack.t1048.003

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1048.003

References

• https://www.atomicredteam.io/atomic-red-team/atomics/T1048.003#atomic-test-8---python3-httpserver
• https://docs.python.org/3/library/http.server.html
• https://docs.python.org/2/library/simplehttpserver.html

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_python_http_server_execution.yml