Sigma rule: Linux Package Uninstall

Rule

Title

Linux Package Uninstall

Status

test

Level

low

Author

Tuan Le (NCSGroup), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)

Date

2023-03-09

File

rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_remove_package.yml

Commit

ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects linux package removal using builtin tools such as "yum", "apt", "apt-get" or "dpkg".

Log source

product

linux

category

process_creation

Detection

selection_yum:
    Image|endswith: '/yum'
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'erase'
        - 'remove'
selection_apt:
    Image|endswith:
        - '/apt'
        - '/apt-get'
    CommandLine|contains:
        - 'remove'
        - 'purge'
selection_dpkg:
    Image|endswith: '/dpkg'
    CommandLine|contains:
        - '--remove '
        - ' -r '
selection_rpm:
    Image|endswith: '/rpm'
    CommandLine|contains: ' -e '
condition: 1 of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

• Administrator or administrator scripts might delete packages for several reasons (debugging, troubleshooting).

Tags

• attack.stealth
• attack.t1070

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

• T1070

References

• https://sysdig.com/blog/mitre-defense-evasion-falco
• https://www.tutorialspoint.com/how-to-install-a-software-on-linux-using-yum-command
• https://linuxhint.com/uninstall_yum_package/
• https://linuxhint.com/uninstall-debian-packages/

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_remove_package.yml