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Powershell Create Scheduled Task

Adversaries may abuse the Windows Task Scheduler to perform task scheduling for initial or recurring execution of malicious code

MITRE ATT&CK

T1053.005

privilege-escalationexecutionpersistence

Detection Query

selection_cmdlet:
  ScriptBlockText|contains:
    - New-ScheduledTaskAction
    - New-ScheduledTaskTrigger
    - New-ScheduledTaskPrincipal
    - New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet
    - New-ScheduledTask
    - Register-ScheduledTask
selection_cimmethod:
  ScriptBlockText|contains|all:
    - Invoke-CimMethod
    - -ClassName
    - PS_ScheduledTask
    - -NameSpace
    - Root\Microsoft\Windows\TaskScheduler
filter_main_legitimate_scripts:
  ScriptBlockText|contains|all:
    - Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Export-ModuleMember
    - Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure.CimInstance
    - __cmdletization_methodParameter
condition: 1 of selection_* and not 1 of filter_main_*

Author

frack113

Created

2021-12-28

Data Sources

windowsps_script

Platforms

windows

References

Tags

attack.privilege-escalationattack.executionattack.persistenceattack.t1053.005

Raw Content

title: Powershell Create Scheduled Task
id: 363eccc0-279a-4ccf-a3ab-24c2e63b11fb
status: test
description: Adversaries may abuse the Windows Task Scheduler to perform task scheduling for initial or recurring execution of malicious code
references:
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1053.005/T1053.005.md#atomic-test-4---powershell-cmdlet-scheduled-task
    - https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/f339e7da7d05f6057fdfcdd3742bfcf365fee2a9/atomics/T1053.005/T1053.005.md#atomic-test-6---wmi-invoke-cimmethod-scheduled-task
author: frack113
date: 2021-12-28
modified: 2025-10-07
tags:
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.execution
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.t1053.005
logsource:
    product: windows
    category: ps_script
    definition: 'Requirements: Script Block Logging must be enabled'
detection:
    selection_cmdlet:
        ScriptBlockText|contains:
            - 'New-ScheduledTaskAction'
            - 'New-ScheduledTaskTrigger'
            - 'New-ScheduledTaskPrincipal'
            - 'New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet'
            - 'New-ScheduledTask'
            - 'Register-ScheduledTask'
    selection_cimmethod:
        ScriptBlockText|contains|all:
            - 'Invoke-CimMethod'
            - '-ClassName'
            - 'PS_ScheduledTask'
            - '-NameSpace'
            - 'Root\Microsoft\Windows\TaskScheduler'
    filter_main_legitimate_scripts:
        ScriptBlockText|contains|all:
            - 'Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Export-ModuleMember'
            - 'Microsoft.Management.Infrastructure.CimInstance'
            - '__cmdletization_methodParameter'
    condition: 1 of selection_* and not 1 of filter_main_*
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium