Sigma rule: Disable Or Stop Services

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-a2b6c992ca73, updated 2025-03-18T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Disable Or Stop Services
Status
test
Level
medium
Author
Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2022-09-15
Modified
2025-03-18
File
rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_services_stop_and_disable.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects the usage of utilities such as 'systemctl', 'service'...etc to stop or disable tools and services on Linux systems.
Attackers may stop or disable security tools and services to evade detection, maintain persistence, or disrupt system operations.

Log source

product
linux
category
process_creation

Detection

selection:
    Image|endswith:
        - '/service'
        - '/systemctl'
        - '/chkconfig'
    CommandLine|contains:
        - ' stop '
        - ' disable '
filter_main_legit_snapd:
    Image|endswith: '/systemctl'
    CommandLine|contains:
        - '--no-reload disable snap-snapd-'
        - ' stop snap-snapd-'
filter_main_ssh_preinstall:
    Image|endswith: '/systemctl'
    ParentCommandLine|contains: 'tmp.ci/preinst upgrade'
    CommandLine|contains|all:
        - ' stop '
        - 'ssh.'
filter_main_ubuntu_upgrade:
    ParentCommandLine|contains: '/dpkg/info/ubuntu-pro-client.prerm upgrade'
    Image|endswith: '/systemctl'
filter_optional_aws_agent:
    Image|endswith: '/systemctl'
    CommandLine|endswith: 'snap.amazon-ssm-agent.amazon-ssm-agent.service'
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_* and not 1 of filter_optional_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Legitimate administration activities
  • Some false positives are to be expected. Apply additional filters as needed before pushing to production.

Tags

  • attack.defense-impairment
  • attack.t1685
  • attack.impact
  • attack.t1489

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_services_stop_and_disable.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Disable Or Stop Services" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/linux/process_creation/proc_creation_lnx_services_stop_and_disable.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: Disable Or Stop Services",
entity page, dataset version ref-a2b6c992ca73, updated 2025-03-18T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/de25eeb8-3655-4643-ac3a-b662d3f26b6b (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule de25eeb8-3655-4643-ac3a-b662d3f26b6b, 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.