A newer version is available. For the latest information, see the
current release documentation.
Suspicious Execution via Scheduled Task
editSuspicious Execution via Scheduled Task
editIdentifies execution of a suspicious program via scheduled tasks by looking at process lineage and command line usage.
Rule type: eql
Rule indices:
- winlogbeat-*
- logs-endpoint.events.*
- logs-windows.*
Severity: medium
Risk score: 47
Runs every: 5 minutes
Searches indices from: now-9m (Date Math format, see also Additional look-back time
)
Maximum alerts per execution: 100
Tags:
- Elastic
- Host
- Windows
- Threat Detection
- Persistence
Version: 4 (version history)
Added (Elastic Stack release): 7.11.0
Last modified (Elastic Stack release): 7.16.0
Rule authors: Elastic
Rule license: Elastic License v2
Potential false positives
editLegitimate scheduled tasks running third party software.
Rule query
editprocess where event.type == "start" and /* Schedule service cmdline on Win10+ */ process.parent.name : "svchost.exe" and process.parent.args : "Schedule" and /* add suspicious programs here */ process.pe.original_file_name in ( "cscript.exe", "wscript.exe", "PowerShell.EXE", "Cmd.Exe", "MSHTA.EXE", "RUNDLL32.EXE", "REGSVR32.EXE", "MSBuild.exe", "InstallUtil.exe", "RegAsm.exe", "RegSvcs.exe", "msxsl.exe", "CONTROL.EXE", "EXPLORER.EXE", "Microsoft.Workflow.Compiler.exe", "msiexec.exe" ) and /* add suspicious paths here */ process.args : ( "C:\\Users\\*", "C:\\ProgramData\\*", "C:\\Windows\\Temp\\*", "C:\\Windows\\Tasks\\*", "C:\\PerfLogs\\*", "C:\\Intel\\*", "C:\\Windows\\Debug\\*", "C:\\HP\\*")
Threat mapping
editFramework: MITRE ATT&CKTM
-
Tactic:
- Name: Persistence
- ID: TA0003
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0003/
-
Technique:
- Name: Scheduled Task/Job
- ID: T1053
- Reference URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1053/
Rule version history
edit- Version 4 (7.16.0 release)
-
- Formatting only
- Version 3 (7.12.0 release)
-
- Formatting only
- Version 2 (7.11.2 release)
-
- Formatting only