pinkpixel-dev/analyzing-persistence-mechanisms-in-linux
SKILLS/analyzing-persistence-mechanisms-in-linux/SKILL.md
Detect and analyze Linux persistence mechanisms including crontab entries, systemd service units, LD_PRELOAD hijacking, bashrc modifications, and authorized_keys backdoors using auditd and file integrity monitoring
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Security Scan Results
3 of 9 scanners reported clean
Some scanners were skipped, did not run, or reported a non-clean status. Review each row below.
3
Scanners Passed
9
Scanners in report
Clean
TrivyContainer and dependency vulnerability scanner
95%
Clean
SemgrepStatic code analysis for vulnerabilities
95%
Clean
mcp-scan (Snyk)Model Context Protocol security validation
95%
Skipped
Snyk (dep)Open source security scanning
50%
Skipped
Socket.devSupply chain security analysis
50%
Skipped
VirusTotalMulti-engine malware detection
50%
Skipped
CrowdStrikeAdvanced threat intelligence
50%
Skipped
OSV-ScannerOpen Source Vulnerability database check
50%
Skipped
OWASP Dep-Check
50%
Last scanned: May 29, 2026, 4:32 AM58.1s3 files scanned
SKILL.md
- name:
- analyzing-persistence-mechanisms-in-linux
- description:
- Detect and analyze Linux persistence mechanisms including crontab entries, systemd service units, LD_PRELOAD hijacking, bashrc modifications, and authorized_keys backdoors using auditd and file integrity monitoring
- domain:
- cybersecurity
- subdomain:
- threat-hunting
- tags:
- [linux-persistence, crontab, systemd, ld-preload, auditd, threat-hunting, incident-response]
- version:
- 1.0
- author:
- mahipal
- license:
- Apache-2.0
Analyzing Persistence Mechanisms in Linux
Overview
Adversaries establish persistence on Linux systems through crontab jobs, systemd service/timer units, LD_PRELOAD library injection, shell profile modifications (.bashrc, .profile), SSH authorized_keys backdoors, and init script manipulation. This skill scans for all known persistence vectors, checks file timestamps and integrity, and correlates findings with auditd logs to build a timeline of persistence installation.
When to Use
- When investigating security incidents that require analyzing persistence mechanisms in linux
- When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
- When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
- When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques
Prerequisites
- Root or sudo access on target Linux system (or forensic image)
- auditd configured with file watch rules on persistence paths
- Python 3.8+ with standard library (os, subprocess, json)
- Optional: OSSEC/Wazuh agent for file integrity monitoring alerts
Steps
- Scan Crontab Entries — Enumerate all user crontabs, /etc/cron.d/, /etc/cron.daily/, and anacron jobs for suspicious commands
- Audit Systemd Units — Check /etc/systemd/system/ and ~/.config/systemd/user/ for non-package-managed service and timer units
- Detect LD_PRELOAD Hijacking — Check /etc/ld.so.preload and LD_PRELOAD environment variable for injected shared libraries
- Inspect Shell Profiles — Scan .bashrc, .bash_profile, .profile, /etc/profile.d/ for injected commands or reverse shells
- Check SSH Authorized Keys — Audit all authorized_keys files for unauthorized public keys with command restrictions
- Correlate Auditd Logs — Search auditd logs for file modification events on persistence paths to build an installation timeline
- Generate Persistence Report — Produce a risk-scored report of all discovered persistence mechanisms
Expected Output
- JSON report of all persistence mechanisms found with risk scores
- Timeline of persistence installation from auditd correlation
- MITRE ATT&CK technique mapping (T1053, T1543, T1574, T1546)
- Remediation commands for each detected persistence mechanism
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