Rkhunter
Rootkit Hunter scans Linux systems for known rootkits, backdoors and suspicious file changes.
Legal & ethical use. Use this tool only on systems, networks and data that you own or have explicit written permission to test. Unauthorised access or scanning can break computer-misuse laws (for example Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and equivalents elsewhere). Practise in your own lab or in authorised environments such as CTFs.
What it is used for
- Run a periodic check on a lab server
- Learn what a baseline file-property database is
Key features
- Known rootkit checks
- File hash baseline
- Warnings report
Installation
sudo apt install rkhunter.
Beginner usage guide
Create a baseline on a clean system, then re-run checks and investigate each warning before assuming compromise.
Example commands
Run these only against your own lab or authorised targets. Placeholder addresses such as 192.0.2.x are documentation ranges.
Run a check
sudo rkhunter --checkRuns all checks interactively; review the log at /var/log/rkhunter.log.
References
Source verification
Last reviewed: 2026-10-27
Links checked over HTTP: 2026-10-27 07:51 UTC — official: 200, docs: 200, repo: 200
Commands were written from the official documentation and have not been executed on this site; test them in your lab.