Sigma rule: Hidden Files and Directories

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-bb75f934faf3, updated 2025-06-16T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title: Hidden Files and Directories
Status: test
Level: low
Author: Pawel Mazur
Date: 2021-09-06
Modified: 2025-06-16
File: rules/linux/auditd/execve/lnx_auditd_hidden_files_directories.yml
Commit: ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects adversary creating hidden file or directory, by detecting directories or files with . as the first character

Log source

product: linux
service: auditd

Detection

selection_commands:
    type: 'EXECVE'
    a0:
        - 'mkdir'
        - 'nano'
        - 'touch'
        - 'vi'
        - 'vim'
selection_arguments:
    - a1|re: '(^|\/)\.[^.\/]'
    - a2|re: '(^|\/)\.[^.\/]'
condition: all of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

Unknown

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

T1564.001

References

https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1564.001/T1564.001.md

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/auditd/execve/lnx_auditd_hidden_files_directories.yml

Sources and licences

SigmaHQ
"Hidden Files and Directories" by Pawel Mazur (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/linux/auditd/execve/lnx_auditd_hidden_files_directories.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: Hidden Files and Directories",
entity page, dataset version ref-bb75f934faf3, updated 2025-06-16T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/d08722cd-3d09-449a-80b4-83ea2d9d4616 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule d08722cd-3d09-449a-80b4-83ea2d9d4616, 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.