Linux Setuid Capability Set on a Binary via Setcap Utility

calendar Jan 24, 2026 · attack.privilege-escalation attack.defense-evasion attack.persistence attack.t1548 attack.t1554  ·
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Detects the use of the 'setcap' utility to set the 'setuid' capability (cap_setuid) on a binary file. This capability allows a non privileged process to make arbitrary manipulations of user IDs (UIDs), including setting its current UID to a value that would otherwise be restricted (i.e. UID 0, the root user). This behavior can be used by adversaries to backdoor a binary in order to escalate privileges again in the future if needed.

Sigma rule (View on GitHub)

 1title: Linux Setuid Capability Set on a Binary via Setcap Utility
 2id: ed447910-bc30-4575-a598-3a2e49516a7a
 3status: experimental
 4description: |
 5    Detects the use of the 'setcap' utility to set the 'setuid' capability (cap_setuid) on a binary file.
 6    This capability allows a non privileged process to make arbitrary manipulations of user IDs (UIDs), including setting its current UID to a value that would otherwise be restricted (i.e. UID 0, the root user).
 7    This behavior can be used by adversaries to backdoor a binary in order to escalate privileges again in the future if needed.    
 8references:
 9    - https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man8/setcap.8.html
10    - https://dfir.ch/posts/linux_capabilities/
11    - https://juggernaut-sec.com/capabilities/#cap_setuid
12author: Luc Génaux
13date: 2026-01-24
14tags:
15    - attack.privilege-escalation
16    - attack.defense-evasion
17    - attack.persistence
18    - attack.t1548
19    - attack.t1554
20logsource:
21    product: linux
22    category: process_creation
23detection:
24    selection:
25        Image|endswith: '/setcap'
26        CommandLine|contains: 'cap_setuid'
27    condition: selection
28falsepositives:
29    - Unknown
30level: low

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