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Suspicious Schtasks Execution AppData Folder

Detects the creation of a schtask that executes a file from C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local

MITRE ATT&CK

privilege-escalationexecutionpersistence

Detection Query

selection:
  Image|endswith: \schtasks.exe
  CommandLine|contains|all:
    - /Create
    - /RU
    - /TR
    - C:\Users\
    - \AppData\Local\
  CommandLine|contains:
    - NT AUT
    - " SYSTEM "
filter:
  ParentImage|contains|all:
    - \AppData\Local\Temp\
    - TeamViewer_.exe
  Image|endswith: \schtasks.exe
  CommandLine|contains: /TN TVInstallRestore
condition: selection and not filter

Author

pH-T (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)

Created

2022-03-15

Data Sources

windowsProcess Creation Events

Platforms

windows

Tags

attack.privilege-escalationattack.executionattack.persistenceattack.t1053.005attack.t1059.001
Raw Content
title: Suspicious Schtasks Execution AppData Folder
id: c5c00f49-b3f9-45a6-997e-cfdecc6e1967
status: test
description: 'Detects the creation of a schtask that executes a file from C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local'
references:
    - https://thedfirreport.com/2022/02/21/qbot-and-zerologon-lead-to-full-domain-compromise/
author: pH-T (Nextron Systems), Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2022-03-15
modified: 2022-07-28
tags:
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.execution
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.t1053.005
    - attack.t1059.001
logsource:
    product: windows
    category: process_creation
detection:
    selection:
        Image|endswith: '\schtasks.exe'
        CommandLine|contains|all:
            - '/Create'
            - '/RU'
            - '/TR'
            - 'C:\Users\'
            - '\AppData\Local\'
        CommandLine|contains:
            - 'NT AUT' # This covers the usual NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
            - ' SYSTEM ' # SYSTEM is a valid value for schtasks hence it gets it's own value with space
    filter:
        # FP from test set in SIGMA
        ParentImage|contains|all:
            - '\AppData\Local\Temp\'
            - 'TeamViewer_.exe'
        Image|endswith: '\schtasks.exe'
        CommandLine|contains: '/TN TVInstallRestore'
    condition: selection and not filter
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: high