Collapse related alerts into one incident, process-lineage first with a time-window fallback. Each alert batch's flagged PIDs are walked up the /proc PPid chain into a lineage set (excluding pid 0/1 so everything doesn't correlate through init); batches whose lineage sets intersect — sharing a process or a common ancestor like the web server or SSH session — join the same incident. PID-less batches (FIM drift, package tamper, hidden modules) fall back to the most recently active open incident within incident_window. snapshot.capture now computes lineage and records each snapshot into a JSON incident index (incidents.json), writing incident_id into both the report JSON (report level, so the per-alert schema is untouched) and the text header. New commands: incident list incidents newest-first, with signatures incident show <id> summary + time-ordered snapshot timeline incident export <id> JSON bundle: record + inlined snapshots The lineage/assign cores are pure functions; record() serializes the index under a lock (capture runs from sweep + eBPF threads) and is best-effort so an index problem never loses a snapshot. 17 new tests (lineage, assign, record, and an end-to-end capture→group→CLI path). Config: incident_tracking / incident_window / incident_lineage_depth. Docs + sample config updated; closes the last v0.8 roadmap item. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Enodia Sentinel Roadmap
This roadmap moves Enodia Sentinel from a host IDS into a host security platform: detect, verify, investigate, respond, and assure. Dates are intentionally not promised here; the sequence matters more than calendar precision.
Release Tracks
| Track | Goal |
|---|---|
| Sensor | Better host telemetry, event capture, and detection coverage. |
| Integrity | Stronger proof that files, packages, baselines, and Sentinel itself were not silently modified. |
| Incident | Group alerts, build timelines, and export evidence. |
| Response | Add safe, auditable containment and recovery workflows. |
| Fleet | Let multiple hosts report to a small controller without making the local agent dependent on it. |
| Assurance | Move trust anchors off-box or below user space. |
v0.8: Documentation, Posture, and Incident Shape
Purpose: make the current agent easier to operate and create the data model for work that is bigger than single alerts.
- ✅ Add
incident_idgrouping around related alerts (process-lineage first, time-window fallback) while preserving the existing alert JSON —incident_idis added at snapshot-report level. - ✅ Add an incident timeline generator:
incident showbuilds a time-ordered view across an incident's member snapshots (time, severity, signatures, PIDs). Richer sources (package transactions, dedicated FIM-diff lines) can follow. - ✅ Add
enodia-sentinel incident list/show/export. - ✅ Add host posture checks (
enodia-sentinel posture check): SSH root/password/empty-password login, passwordless and writable sudoers, world-writable PATH components, loose sensitive-file permissions, and disabled package signatures. Still to come: unexpected enabled services and unsafe systemd unit settings. - ✅ Add a machine-readable
status --jsoncommand for automation. - ✅ Update the red-team harness so every current detection has a named drill and
expected
sid(sentinel-redteam --list), with a PASS/MISS verification pass. - ✅ Document incident response runbooks for reverse shells, persistence, trojaned binaries, hidden listeners, and sensor tampering (RUNBOOKS.md).
Exit criteria:
- One alert can become one incident artifact.
- Operators can answer "what changed around this alert?" without reading every raw snapshot manually.
- Posture checks report reviewable findings but do not block daemon startup.
v0.9: Response and Recovery
Purpose: move from "tell me" to "help me act" without unsafe automation.
- Add response plan generation:
enodia-sentinel respond plan <incident-id>. - Add dry-run first actions: kill process, stop/disable service, block remote IP, quarantine file, restore package-owned file by reinstalling its package, and freeze evidence.
- Require explicit
--applyfor changes; default to read-only plans. - Write response audit logs under the normal log directory.
- Add baseline reconciliation: accept legitimate FIM/package/listener/SUID changes with a recorded reason.
- Add richer false-positive suppression suggestions that can emit TOML snippets but never modify config automatically.
- Add recovery checks: "verify package", "re-run rootcheck", "confirm no persistence diff", and "confirm heartbeat/dashboard visible from watchdog".
Exit criteria:
- An operator can go from alert to reviewed response plan with one command.
- Any state-changing action is explicit, logged, reversible where possible, and testable in a safe fixture.
v1.0: Stable Local Platform
Purpose: define a stable single-host product.
- Commit to stable JSON schemas for alerts, incidents, status, and response audits.
- Add compatibility tests for schema evolution.
- Add documentation versioning and manpage-style command reference.
- Harden packaging for Arch first, then document Debian/RPM install paths.
- Add signed release artifacts and checksums.
- Improve dashboard from alert browser to local console: incidents, posture, integrity state, response plans, and watchdog status.
- Keep the dashboard read-only unless a separate authenticated write path is designed and reviewed.
Exit criteria:
- The local agent can be installed, operated, upgraded, and integrated without reading source code.
- JSON and command contracts are stable enough for downstream automation.
v1.1: Event Coverage and Correlation
Purpose: reduce blind spots and connect related signals.
- Add eBPF event sources:
tcp_connect,bind,accept, module load, privilege transitions, and writes to watched persistence paths. - Build process lineage across polling and event sources.
- Correlate multi-stage behavior: web service spawns shell, shell downloads payload, payload adds persistence, listener appears, and FIM changes.
- Add configurable correlation windows and severity escalation rules.
- Keep polling as the oracle and fallback.
Exit criteria:
- Short-lived network and persistence actions are visible.
- Related alerts collapse into one incident with a readable timeline.
v1.2: Fleet Mode
Purpose: support several personal or small-business Linux hosts without turning the agent into a heavy enterprise platform.
- Add an optional collector service.
- Agents push signed JSON events and heartbeats over HTTPS or a tailnet.
- Collector stores host status, alerts, incidents, and package/integrity state.
- Add host enrollment with per-host tokens.
- Add fleet-wide views: stale sensors, repeated signatures, hosts missing package signatures, and integrity drift.
- Preserve local autonomy: detection and evidence capture must continue if the collector is down.
Exit criteria:
- A small fleet can answer "which host is compromised or silent?" from one console.
- The agent still works as a standalone local tool.
v1.3+: Assurance and Hardening
Purpose: make tampering harder to hide from an attacker with high privileges.
- External baseline anchor: mirror FIM and package DB fingerprints off-box with append-only semantics.
- Hash-chain
events.logand snapshots. - Optional snapshot signing with a host key.
- Investigate Linux IMA/EVM and TPM-backed attestation for supported machines.
- Replace bcc with a libbpf + CO-RE agent if the event layer becomes core to the product.
- Explore minimal kernel-side enforcement hooks for response actions, while keeping the default product inspect-only.
Exit criteria:
- A local root attacker has to tamper with both the host and an external or hardware-backed trust anchor to hide compromise.
Backlog
Useful ideas that need design before implementation:
- Policy-as-code for host posture.
- YARA-compatible scanning for selected paths.
- Sigma-like host event rules.
- SBOM and package provenance reporting.
- Offline evidence bundle for outside analysis.
- Dashboard import of exported incident bundles.
- Support for non-pacman package managers in signed-package verification.
- Dedicated Debian/RPM packaging.
- Installer preflight checks and health diagnostics.
- Rule documentation generated from source defaults.
Roadmap Rules
- Do not add dependencies to the base daemon without a specific security or operator value that cannot be achieved with stdlib.
- Prefer read-only detection and dry-run response until the command contract is tested and documented.
- Every new detector or response action needs a safe drill or fixture.
- Do not build stealth or self-hiding behavior.
- Keep the local agent useful without a dashboard, collector, or network.