sigmamediumHunting

Scheduled Task Creation From Potential Suspicious Parent Location

Detects the execution of "schtasks.exe" from a parent that is located in a potentially suspicious location. Multiple malware strains were seen exhibiting a similar behavior in order to achieve persistence.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1053.005

executionpersistenceprivilege-escalation

Detection Query

selection:
  ParentImage|contains:
    - :\Temp\
    - \AppData\Local\
    - \AppData\Roaming\
    - \Temporary Internet
    - \Users\Public\
    - \Windows\Temp\
  Image|endswith: \schtasks.exe
  CommandLine|contains: "/Create "
filter_optional_common:
  CommandLine|contains:
    - update_task.xml
    - unattended.ini
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_optional_*

Author

Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)

Created

2022-02-23

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

References

https://app.any.run/tasks/649e7b46-9bec-4d05-98a5-dfa9a13eaae5/

Tags

attack.executionattack.persistenceattack.privilege-escalationattack.t1053.005detection.threat-hunting

Raw Content

title: Scheduled Task Creation From Potential Suspicious Parent Location
id: 9494479d-d994-40bf-a8b1-eea890237021
status: test
description: |
    Detects the execution of "schtasks.exe" from a parent that is located in a potentially suspicious location.
    Multiple malware strains were seen exhibiting a similar behavior in order to achieve persistence.
references:
    - https://app.any.run/tasks/649e7b46-9bec-4d05-98a5-dfa9a13eaae5/
author: Florian Roth (Nextron Systems)
date: 2022-02-23
modified: 2024-05-13
tags:
    - attack.execution
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.t1053.005
    - detection.threat-hunting
logsource:
    product: windows
    category: process_creation
detection:
    selection:
        ParentImage|contains:
            - ':\Temp\'
            - '\AppData\Local\'
            - '\AppData\Roaming\'
            - '\Temporary Internet'
            - '\Users\Public\'
            - '\Windows\Temp\'
        Image|endswith: '\schtasks.exe'
        CommandLine|contains: '/Create '
    filter_optional_common:
        CommandLine|contains:
            - 'update_task.xml'
            - 'unattended.ini'
    condition: selection and not 1 of filter_optional_*
falsepositives:
    - Software installers that run from temporary folders and also install scheduled tasks
level: medium