A process modified an SSH authorized_keys file

Synopsis

Field	Value
Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Day
Required Data	XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)
Detector Tags	Kubernetes - AGENT, Containers, Generic Persistence Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Account Manipulation: SSH Authorized Keys (T1098.004)
Severity	Informational

Description

A process modified an SSH authorized_keys file, which is used in SSH authentication. An attack can add or remove an SSH key to gain access to a targeted host.

Attacker's Goals

Adversaries use this to ensure that they possess the corresponding private key and may log in as an existing user via SSH.

Investigative actions

Check the file modification, try to understand the impact of the related processes and network connections.

Variations

A process modified an SSH authorized_keys2 file

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Account Manipulation: SSH Authorized Keys (T1098.004)
Severity	Low

Description

A process modified an SSH authorized_keys file, which is used in SSH authentication. An attack can add or remove an SSH key to gain access to a targeted host.

Attacker's Goals

Adversaries use this to ensure that they possess the corresponding private key and may log in as an existing user via SSH.

Investigative actions

Check the file modification, try to understand the impact of the related processes and network connections.

A process modified an SSH authorized_keys file from within a Kubernetes Pod

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Account Manipulation: SSH Authorized Keys (T1098.004)
Severity	Low

Description

A process modified an SSH authorized_keys file, which is used in SSH authentication. An attack can add or remove an SSH key to gain access to a targeted host.

Attacker's Goals

Adversaries use this to ensure that they possess the corresponding private key and may log in as an existing user via SSH.

Investigative actions

Check the file modification, try to understand the impact of the related processes and network connections.

Unpopular process modified the SSH authorized_keys file

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Account Manipulation: SSH Authorized Keys (T1098.004)
Severity	Low

Description

An unpopular process modified the SSH authorized_keys file.

Attacker's Goals

Adversaries use this to ensure that they possess the corresponding private key and may log in as an existing user via SSH.

Investigative actions

Check the file modification, try to understand the impact of the related processes and network connections.