TA0004 · PRIVILEGE ESCALATION
Sudo and Sudo Caching
Adversaries may perform sudo caching and/or use the sudoers file to elevate privileges. Adversaries may do this to execute commands as other users or spawn processes with higher privileges.
Detect it with
On Linux, auditd can alert every time a user's actual ID and effective ID are different (this is what happens when you sudo).
Why it matters on shift
Sudo and Sudo Caching is one of the concrete ways adversaries achieve privilege escalation. Recognising it in telemetry lets you name the technique in your ticket and pivot to what came before and after.
What to look for next
After privilege escalation, the next tactic is usually Defense Evasion. Search your telemetry for the transition before closing the ticket.
Kill-chain context