AN0025: Analytic 0025
Detects inotify or auditd configuration changes that monitor system files coupled with execution of script interpreters or binaries by cron or systemd timers.
Analyst context for executives and security teams
This analytic matters because it focuses on a Linux pattern where file-monitoring configuration changes are seen together with scheduled execution through cron or systemd timers. For leaders, the decision value is whether the organization can connect configuration-change evidence with scheduled execution evidence quickly enough to support incident triage and continuity decisions on Linux systems.
Executive priority
Prioritize this where Linux servers support business-critical workloads, regulated systems, or operational infrastructure. The key executive question is not simply whether auditd or inotify exists, but whether SOC and incident response teams can prove they collect and correlate the relevant configuration and scheduler activity. This supports resilience, audit evidence, and faster decision-making during suspected persistence or unauthorized automation investigations.
Technical view
For Linux coverage validation, confirm visibility into changes affecting inotify or auditd configurations that monitor system files, then correlate those changes with execution activity initiated by cron or systemd timers. Because ATT&CK provides no tactic, relationship, or separate detection logic for this object, teams should treat the analytic as a detection-engineering validation pattern rather than a complete rule. IR teams should be prepared to review the changed monitoring configuration, the related cron or systemd timer unit, and the interpreter or binary execution context.
Likely telemetry
- Linux auditd configuration and rule-change records
- File integrity or configuration-change logs for auditd and inotify-related files
- cron job creation, modification, and execution logs
- systemd timer and service unit creation, modification, enablement, and execution logs
- Process execution telemetry for script interpreters and binaries launched by cron or systemd
Detection direction
- Validate that Linux logging captures both sides of the behavior: monitoring configuration changes and scheduled execution through cron or systemd timers.
- Tune correlation windows carefully; legitimate administration may change audit or monitoring configuration and deploy scheduled jobs during maintenance.
- Separate expected configuration management activity from unusual local changes, especially on critical servers.
- Review false positives from security tooling, compliance agents, backup scripts, and administrator-maintained scheduled tasks.
- Identify blind spots where auditd is absent, disabled, inconsistently configured, or where cron/systemd logs are not centralized.
Mitigation priorities
- Establish a Linux logging baseline for auditd/inotify-related configuration changes and cron/systemd timer activity.
- Restrict and review administrative access required to modify monitoring configuration and scheduled execution mechanisms.
- Use change management or approved automation records to distinguish authorized maintenance from suspicious local changes.
- Centralize host telemetry so SOC and IR teams can correlate configuration changes with scheduled process execution.
- Periodically test detection logic on representative Linux systems to confirm required events are generated, collected, and searchable.
Analyst notes and limits
AN0025 is a detection analytic in the enterprise ATT&CK domain for Linux. The official description is narrow: it detects inotify or auditd configuration changes that monitor system files coupled with execution of script interpreters or binaries by cron or systemd timers. No official detection logic, tactics, labels, aliases, or relationship context were supplied.
This take is limited to the supplied STIX fields and external reference. It does not assert active exploitation, attribution, impact, or guaranteed detection. Local logging configuration, endpoint coverage, scheduler usage, and administrative practices determine whether this analytic is actionable in a specific environment.
Analytic 0025
Detects inotify or auditd configuration changes that monitor system files coupled with execution of script interpreters or binaries by cron or systemd timers.
How security teams should use this page
Treat this object as behavior context, not an attribution claim. Validate the related groups, software, data sources, and mitigations against official ATT&CK relationships and your own telemetry before making control-coverage decisions.
All related ATT&CK context
No relationships are available in the current normalized data for this object.
Object version and sync metadata
The fields below describe the current mirrored snapshot. When Glexia retains multiple ATT&CK source imports, you can open the table to compare the same object across releases (hashes and MITRE timestamps). For MITRE’s own release notes and roadmap, see ATT&CK resources — Updates .
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases (1)
| Release | Bundle imported | Object version | Modified | Status | Raw hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.1 | 1.0 | Current bundle | e7b005e77505… |
Mirrored ATT&CK source object
The raw object is retained through the mirrored ATT&CK source bundle and object hash. The raw endpoint returns the exact object from the mirrored bundle when available.
External references and citations
MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.
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mitre-attack AN0025Open source URL
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