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Rule Reference

SEC659lintai-ai-securitystablejsonwarn

Plugin hook: systemd persistence

Plugin hook command registers a systemd service or unit for persistence

Provider
lintai-ai-security
Surface
json
Scope
per_file
Tier
stable
Severity
warn
Confidence
high
Detection
structural
Remediation
message_only

Activation Model

Preset Membership

This rule is part of the builtin activation graph through these preset memberships.

basemembership
mcpmembership

Lifecycle

Stable Lifecycle Contract

State

stable_gated

Graduation rationale

Checks committed plugin hook command values for explicit systemd service registration or unit-file writes.

Deterministic signal basis

JsonSignals command-string analysis over ArtifactKind::CursorPluginHooks for `systemctl enable|link` or writes to systemd unit paths.

Malicious corpus
plugin-hook-command-service-persistence
Benign corpus
plugin-hook-command-safe
structured evidence required remediation reviewed
Canonical note

Structural stable rule intended as a high-precision check with deterministic evidence.

Nearby Signals

Related Rules

SEC301MCP config: shell trampolineMCP configuration shells out through sh -c or bash -cjsonstable
SEC302Config: insecure HTTP endpointConfiguration contains an insecure http:// endpointjsonstable
SEC303MCP config: credential env passthroughMCP configuration passes through credential environment variablesjsonstable
SEC304Config: TLS verification disabledConfiguration disables TLS or certificate verificationjsonstable
SEC305Config: hardcoded auth materialConfiguration embeds static authentication material in a connection or auth valuejsonstable
SEC309Config: literal secrets in configConfiguration commits literal secret material in env, auth, or header valuesjsonstable

Why It Matters ​

Systemd registration from a plugin hook can make repository-delivered code persist across boots or user sessions.

What Triggers ​

SEC659 matches plugin hook command strings that run systemctl enable or systemctl link, or write unit files into systemd service paths.

False Positives ​

Machine-bootstrap plugins are the main exception, but this is still a sensitive persistence change that should not happen silently.

Remediation ​

Remove systemd persistence from the plugin hook and move service installation into a separate reviewed admin workflow.