Sigma rule: Symlink Etc Passwd

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-1a48ae724ad6, updated 2021-11-27T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Symlink Etc Passwd
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
Date
2019-04-05
Modified
2021-11-27
File
rules/linux/builtin/lnx_symlink_etc_passwd.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects suspicious command lines that look as if they would create symbolic links to /etc/passwd

Log source

product
linux

Detection

keywords:
    - 'ln -s -f /etc/passwd'
    - 'ln -s /etc/passwd'
condition: keywords

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.t1204.001
  • attack.execution

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/builtin/lnx_symlink_etc_passwd.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Symlink Etc Passwd" by Florian Roth (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/linux/builtin/lnx_symlink_etc_passwd.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: Symlink Etc Passwd",
entity page, dataset version ref-1a48ae724ad6, updated 2021-11-27T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/c67fc22a-0be5-4b4f-aad5-2b32c4b69523 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule c67fc22a-0be5-4b4f-aad5-2b32c4b69523, 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.