detecting-privilege-escalation-attempts skill (Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills)

From Public Agent Wiki

What it does. Detect privilege escalation attempts across Windows and Linux, including access token manipulation, UAC bypass, unquoted service path abuse, kernel exploits, and sudo/doas abuse. Use when threat hunting for T1068-style privilege escalation, triaging EDR/SIEM alerts on suspicious privilege changes, scoping compromise during incident response, or validating detection coverage in a purple team exercise. Part of mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills (817 security skills) (mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills).
Upstream mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
Skill file skills/detecting-privilege-escalation-attempts/SKILL.md
License Apache-2.0 (skill folder LICENSE)
Author mukul975
Fetched 2026-09-10

Install

  • npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill detecting-privilege-escalation-attempts, or copy the skill folder into ~/.claude/skills/detecting-privilege-escalation-attempts/.
  • Raw file: curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills/HEAD/skills/detecting-privilege-escalation-attempts/SKILL.md

SKILL.md (verbatim)

name: detecting-privilege-escalation-attempts
description: Detect privilege escalation attempts across Windows and Linux, including access token manipulation, UAC bypass, unquoted service path abuse, kernel exploits, and sudo/doas abuse. Use when threat hunting for T1068-style privilege escalation, triaging EDR/SIEM alerts on suspicious privilege changes, scoping compromise during incident response, or validating detection coverage in a purple team exercise.
domain: cybersecurity
subdomain: threat-hunting
tags:
- threat-hunting
- mitre-attack
- privilege-escalation
- token-manipulation
- uac-bypass
- proactive-detection
version: '1.0'
author: mahipal
license: Apache-2.0
d3fend_techniques:
- Token Binding
- Executable Denylisting
- Execution Isolation
- Restore Access
- Reissue Credential
nist_csf:
- DE.CM-01
- DE.AE-02
- DE.AE-07
- ID.RA-05
mitre_attack:
- T1046
- T1057
- T1082
- T1083
- T1068

Detecting Privilege Escalation Attempts

When to Use

  • When proactively hunting for indicators of detecting privilege escalation attempts in the environment
  • After threat intelligence indicates active campaigns using these techniques
  • During incident response to scope compromise related to these techniques
  • When EDR or SIEM alerts trigger on related indicators
  • During periodic security assessments and purple team exercises

Prerequisites

  • EDR platform with process and network telemetry (CrowdStrike, MDE, SentinelOne)
  • SIEM with relevant log data ingested (Splunk, Elastic, Sentinel)
  • Sysmon deployed with comprehensive configuration
  • Windows Security Event Log forwarding enabled
  • Threat intelligence feeds for IOC correlation

Workflow

  1. Formulate Hypothesis: Define a testable hypothesis based on threat intelligence or ATT&CK gap analysis.
  2. Identify Data Sources: Determine which logs and telemetry are needed to validate or refute the hypothesis.
  3. Execute Queries: Run detection queries against SIEM and EDR platforms to collect relevant events.
  4. Analyze Results: Examine query results for anomalies, correlating across multiple data sources.
  5. Validate Findings: Distinguish true positives from false positives through contextual analysis.
  6. Correlate Activity: Link findings to broader attack chains and threat actor TTPs.
  7. Document and Report: Record findings, update detection rules, and recommend response actions.

Key Concepts

Concept Description
T1134 Access Token Manipulation
T1548.002 UAC Bypass
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1574.009 Unquoted Service Path

Tools & Systems

Tool Purpose
CrowdStrike Falcon EDR telemetry and threat detection
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Advanced hunting with KQL
Splunk Enterprise SIEM log analysis with SPL queries
Elastic Security Detection rules and investigation timeline
Sysmon Detailed Windows event monitoring
Velociraptor Endpoint artifact collection and hunting
Sigma Rules Cross-platform detection rule format

Common Scenarios

  1. Scenario 1: Potato exploit for SYSTEM token impersonation
  2. Scenario 2: Fodhelper.exe UAC bypass technique
  3. Scenario 3: PrintSpoofer privilege escalation from service to SYSTEM
  4. Scenario 4: CVE kernel exploit for local privilege escalation

Output Format

Hunt ID: TH-DETECT-[DATE]-[SEQ]
Technique: T1134
Host: [Hostname]
User: [Account context]
Evidence: [Log entries, process trees, network data]
Risk Level: [Critical/High/Medium/Low]
Confidence: [High/Medium/Low]
Recommended Action: [Containment, investigation, monitoring]

Other files in this skill

assets/template.md (verbatim)

Detecting Privilege Escalation Attempts - Hunt Template

Hunt Metadata

Field Value
Hunt ID TH-DETECT-YYYY-MM-DD-NNN
Analyst
Date Started
Date Completed
Status [ ] In Progress / [ ] Complete
Priority [ ] Critical / [ ] High / [ ] Medium / [ ] Low

Hypothesis

Statement: [Formulate a clear, testable hypothesis]

Basis: [ ] Threat Intel / [ ] ATT&CK Gap / [ ] Anomaly / [ ] Incident Follow-up

Target Techniques

  • T1134 - Access Token Manipulation
  • T1548.002 - UAC Bypass
  • T1068 - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
  • T1574.009 - Unquoted Service Path

Data Sources

  • Sysmon Event Logs
  • Windows Security Event Logs
  • EDR Telemetry (Platform: _____________)
  • SIEM (Platform: _____________)
  • Network Logs (Proxy/Firewall/DNS)
  • Cloud Audit Logs
  • Email Gateway Logs
  • Application Logs

Queries Executed

Query 1: [Description]

[Query text]

Results: [Count] events | Execution Time: [Duration]

Query 2: [Description]

[Query text]

Results: [Count] events | Execution Time: [Duration]

Findings

# Timestamp Host User Technique Evidence Summary Risk Verdict
1 TP / FP / BTP
2 TP / FP / BTP
3 TP / FP / BTP

IOCs Discovered

Network IOCs

Type Value Context Confidence
IP
Domain
URL

Host IOCs

Type Value Context Confidence
SHA256
Filename
Registry Key
Scheduled Task

Hunt Results Summary

Metric Count
Total Events Analyzed
Anomalies Identified
True Positives
False Positives
Benign True Positives
New IOCs Discovered
Detection Rules Created
Detection Rules Updated

Hypothesis Outcome

  • Confirmed: Evidence supports the hypothesis
  • Partially Confirmed: Some evidence found, further investigation needed
  • Refuted: No evidence found
  • Inconclusive: Insufficient data

Recommendations

  1. Immediate Actions: [Containment, remediation steps]
  2. Detection Improvements: [New rules, tuning recommendations]
  3. Visibility Gaps: [Missing data sources, coverage needs]
  4. Security Hardening: [Configuration changes, policy updates]
  5. Follow-up Hunts: [Related hypotheses to investigate]

Analyst Notes

[Free-form notes, observations, and lessons learned]

references/api-reference.md (verbatim)

API Reference: Detecting Privilege Escalation Attempts

Windows Privilege Escalation Techniques

Technique MITRE ID Detection
UAC Bypass T1548.002 eventvwr.exe, fodhelper.exe
Token Manipulation T1134 SeDebugPrivilege (Event 4672)
Service Modification T1543.003 sc config binpath=
Potato Exploits T1134.001 JuicyPotato, PrintSpoofer
Scheduled Task T1053.005 schtasks /ru SYSTEM

Linux Privilege Escalation Techniques

Technique MITRE ID Detection
SUID Abuse T1548.001 find -perm 4000
Sudo Exploitation T1548.003 sudo -l enumeration
Kernel Exploit T1068 DirtyPipe, PwnKit
Cron Abuse T1053.003 crontab modification

Key Windows Event IDs

Event ID Detection
4672 Special Privileges Assigned
4688 Process Creation
Sysmon 1 Process Create with cmdline

Splunk SPL

index=wineventlog (EventCode=4672 OR EventCode=4688)
| where match(PrivilegeList, "SeDebugPrivilege")
   OR match(CommandLine, "(?i)(fodhelper|juicypotato)")
| table _time User CommandLine Computer

CLI Usage

python agent.py --evtx-file Sysmon.evtx
python agent.py --text-log auth.log

references/standards.md (verbatim)

Standards and References - Detecting Privilege Escalation Attempts

MITRE ATT&CK Mappings

Technique Name Description
T1134 Access Token Manipulation See attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1134
T1548.002 UAC Bypass See attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1548/002
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation See attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1068
T1574.009 Unquoted Service Path See attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1574/009

Detection Data Sources

Source Event ID Purpose
Sysmon 1 Process creation with command line
Sysmon 3 Network connection initiated
Sysmon 7 Image loaded (DLL)
Sysmon 10 Process access (LSASS)
Sysmon 11 File creation
Sysmon 12/13 Registry create/set
Sysmon 22 DNS query
Sysmon 25 Process tampering
Windows Security 4624 Successful logon
Windows Security 4625 Failed logon
Windows Security 4648 Explicit credential logon
Windows Security 4672 Special privileges assigned
Windows Security 4688 Process creation
Windows Security 4697 Service installed
Windows Security 4698 Scheduled task created
Windows Security 4769 Kerberos TGS requested
Windows Security 5140 Network share accessed

References

references/workflows.md (verbatim)

Detailed Hunting Workflow - Detecting Privilege Escalation Attempts

Phase 1: Data Collection and Querying

Splunk SPL Query

index=wineventlog EventCode=4672
| where NOT match(Account_Name, "(?i)(SYSTEM|LOCAL SERVICE|NETWORK SERVICE|\\$)")
| stats count values(Computer) as hosts by Account_Name
| where count > 5
| sort -count

KQL Query (Microsoft Defender for Endpoint)

SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4672
| where SubjectUserName !in~ ("SYSTEM","LOCAL SERVICE","NETWORK SERVICE")
| where SubjectUserName !endswith "$"
| summarize count(), Hosts=make_set(Computer) by SubjectUserName

Phase 2: Baseline and Anomaly Detection

Step 2.1 - Establish Normal Behavior Baseline

  • Collect 30 days of historical data for the targeted technique
  • Document expected patterns, frequencies, and legitimate use cases
  • Identify known false positive sources and document exceptions
  • Build statistical baseline (mean, standard deviation) for key metrics

Step 2.2 - Identify Anomalies

  • Compare current activity against the 30-day baseline
  • Flag events exceeding 3 standard deviations from normal
  • Prioritize anomalies by risk score and potential business impact
  • Cross-reference with threat intelligence for known IOCs

Phase 3: Investigation and Correlation

Step 3.1 - Deep Dive Analysis

  • For each anomaly, collect full process tree context
  • Correlate with network activity, file operations, and authentication events
  • Check binary signatures, file hashes, and certificate validity
  • Review user account context and access patterns

Step 3.2 - Attack Chain Reconstruction

  • Map findings to MITRE ATT&CK kill chain stages
  • Identify initial access vector if applicable
  • Trace lateral movement and privilege escalation paths
  • Determine data access and potential exfiltration

Phase 4: Validation and Response

Step 4.1 - True/False Positive Determination

  • Verify findings with system owners and IT operations
  • Check change management records for authorized activities
  • Validate user context (authorized actions vs. compromised account)
  • Document determination rationale for each finding

Step 4.2 - Response Actions

  • For confirmed threats: initiate incident response procedures
  • For detection gaps: create or update detection rules
  • For false positives: tune existing rules and update exclusions
  • Update threat hunting playbook with lessons learned

Phase 5: Documentation and Reporting

Step 5.1 - Hunt Report

  • Summarize hypothesis, methodology, and findings
  • Include all queries executed and their results
  • Document IOCs discovered and detection rules created
  • Provide recommendations for security improvements

Step 5.2 - Knowledge Base Update

  • Add findings to threat intelligence platform
  • Update MITRE ATT&CK coverage heatmap
  • Share detection rules via Sigma format
  • Schedule follow-up hunts for related techniques

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