T1562.012 Disable or Modify Linux Audit System Mappings

Adversaries may disable or modify the Linux audit system to hide malicious activity and avoid detection. Linux admins use the Linux Audit system to track security-relevant information on a system. The Linux Audit system operates at the kernel-level and maintains event logs on application and system activity such as process, network, file, and login events based on pre-configured rules.

Often referred to as auditd, this is the name of the daemon used to write events to disk and is governed by the parameters set in the audit.conf configuration file. Two primary ways to configure the log generation rules are through the command line auditctl utility and the file /etc/audit/audit.rules, containing a sequence of auditctl commands loaded at boot time.(Citation: Red Hat System Auditing)(Citation: IzyKnows auditd threat detection 2022)

With root privileges, adversaries may be able to ensure their activity is not logged through disabling the Audit system service, editing the configuration/rule files, or by hooking the Audit system library functions. Using the command line, adversaries can disable the Audit system service through killing processes associated with auditd daemon or use systemctl to stop the Audit service. Adversaries can also hook Audit system functions to disable logging or modify the rules contained in the /etc/audit/audit.rules or audit.conf files to ignore malicious activity.(Citation: Trustwave Honeypot SkidMap 2023)(Citation: ESET Ebury Feb 2014)

View in MITRE ATT&CK®

Mappings

Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name
SI-07 Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity Protects T1562.012 Disable or Modify Linux Audit System
CM-06 Configuration Settings Protects T1562.012 Disable or Modify Linux Audit System
CM-05 Access Restrictions for Change Protects T1562.012 Disable or Modify Linux Audit System
CM-03 Configuration Change Control Protects T1562.012 Disable or Modify Linux Audit System
AC-06 Least Privilege Protects T1562.012 Disable or Modify Linux Audit System
AC-03 Access Enforcement Protects T1562.012 Disable or Modify Linux Audit System
AC-02 Account Management Protects T1562.012 Disable or Modify Linux Audit System
SI-04 System Monitoring Protects T1562.012 Disable or Modify Linux Audit System