xdotool

Automate X11 actions. tldr-pages

GTFOBins shell 1 ATT&CK technique 1 documented command

How xdotool is abused

documented by GTFOBins

shell T1059.004 Command and Scripting Interpreter: Unix Shell

exec

--sync

Each abuse is GTFOBins's category and the options and words it uses; the full write-up is on GTFOBins's page for xdotool.

1 documented command

from GTFOBins, each read by the identifier

shell unprivileged, with sudo, as SUID

xdotool exec --sync /bin/sh

Identify

As SUID:

xdotool exec --sync /bin/sh -p

The command the identifier reads trips no Sigma process-creation rule. This command is from GTFOBins, at commit acd524623f9c of 2026-05-27, under the GPL-3.0, with no warranty. Changed: Markdown is shown formatted. The source is in lolbas-gtfobins-commands.json.gz, and the full entry is on GTFOBins’s page for xdotool. The identifier reads the line that runs xdotool.

What detects it

Sigma process creation rules

T1059.004Command and Scripting Interpreter: Unix Shell

Everyday use

from tldr-pages, CC BY 4.0

Retrieve the X-Windows window ID of the running Firefox window(s)

xdotool search --onlyvisible --name firefoxIdentify

Perform a mouse <RightClick>

xdotool click 3Identify

Get the ID of the currently active window

xdotool getactivewindowIdentify

None of the 3 examples the identifier reads matches GTFOBins abuse or trips a Sigma process-creation rule.

xdotool

How xdotool is abused

1 documented command

What detects it

Everyday use

Other programs abused for shell