Detect Aquasecurity Trivy Embedded Malicious Code (CVE-2026-33634) in IBM QRadar
CVE-2026-33634 describes an embedded malicious code vulnerability (CWE-506) in Aquasecurity Trivy, a widely-used open-source vulnerability scanner. A compromised or trojanized Trivy binary may execute attacker-controlled code during container image scanning, CI/CD pipeline runs, or Kubernetes admission checks. Because Trivy is frequently granted elevated permissions to access container registries, Kubernetes API servers, and cloud credential chains, a backdoored instance poses critical supply-chain risk: exfiltration of secrets, lateral movement into CI/CD infrastructure, and persistent implant installation. This detection monitors for anomalous process behavior, unexpected network egress, and suspicious file activity originating from Trivy processes.
MITRE ATT&CK
QRadar Detection Query
SELECT
DATEFORMAT(devicetime, 'yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') AS event_time,
sourceip,
destinationip,
destinationport,
username,
"Process Name" AS process_name,
"Parent Process Name" AS parent_process_name,
"Command Line" AS command_line,
QIDNAME(qid) AS event_name,
logsourcename(logsourceid) AS log_source
FROM events
WHERE
LOGSOURCETYPENAME(devicetype) IN ('Linux OS', 'Microsoft Windows Security Event Log', 'CrowdStrike Falcon')
AND (
LOWER("Process Name") IN ('trivy', 'trivy-linux-amd64', 'trivy-linux-arm64')
OR LOWER("Parent Process Name") IN ('trivy', 'trivy-linux-amd64', 'trivy-linux-arm64')
)
AND (
(
LOWER("Parent Process Name") IN ('trivy', 'trivy-linux-amd64', 'trivy-linux-arm64')
AND LOWER("Process Name") IN ('curl', 'wget', 'nc', 'ncat', 'python', 'python3', 'perl', 'ruby')
)
OR (
LOWER("Process Name") IN ('trivy', 'trivy-linux-amd64', 'trivy-linux-arm64')
AND destinationport NOT IN (443, 80)
)
OR (
LOWER("Process Name") IN ('trivy', 'trivy-linux-amd64', 'trivy-linux-arm64')
AND LOWER("File Path") MATCHES '(/tmp/|/dev/shm/|/var/tmp/).*'
)
)
LAST 24 HOURSQRadar AQL query detecting Trivy processes with anomalous child process spawning, non-standard port egress, or temp directory file writes consistent with CVE-2026-33634 malicious embedded code.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Trivy vulnerability database synchronization to internal mirrors on non-standard ports
- CI pipeline wrappers launching curl/wget to upload trivy scan reports
- Trivy plugins that legitimately write scan artifacts to /tmp
- Security testing environments running intentional trivy integration tests
Other platforms for CVE-2026-33634
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Trivy Binary Hash Verification Failure Simulation
Expected signal: ProcessRollup or DeviceProcessEvents event for /tmp/trivy-test with a SHA-256 hash differing from the official trivy binary hash; file creation event for /tmp/trivy-test.
- Test 2Trivy Spawning Reverse Shell Child Process
Expected signal: ProcessRollup event showing trivy (or trivy-named process) as parent of nc/netcat; NetworkConnect event for local port 14444.
- Test 3Trivy Unexpected Outbound Network Connection
Expected signal: NetworkConnect event from a process named 'trivy' (via exec -a) to 169.254.169.254 port 80; DnsRequest or direct IP connection telemetry.
- Test 4Trivy Writing Dropper to Temp Directory
Expected signal: FileCreate event showing a trivy-named process writing an executable file to /dev/shm/; file hash and permissions captured in endpoint telemetry.
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