Scheduled Task Executed From A Suspicious Location

SIGMA detection rule by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) · GPL-2.0

Detects the execution of Scheduled Tasks where the Program being run is located in a suspicious location or it's an unusale program to be run from a Scheduled Task

title: Scheduled Task Executed From A Suspicious Location
id: c1fd9ca2-a3f8-1adc-0f1d-1d6099f5d827
related:
    - id: 424273ea-7cf8-43a6-b712-375f925e481f
      type: derived
status: test
description: Detects the execution of Scheduled Tasks where the Program being run is located in a suspicious location or it's an unusale program to be run from a Scheduled Task
references:
    - Internal Research
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
date: 2022-12-05
modified: 2023-02-07
tags:
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.execution
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.t1053.005
logsource:
    product: windows
    service: taskscheduler
    definition: 'Requirements: The "Microsoft-Windows-TaskScheduler/Operational" is disabled by default and needs to be enabled in order for this detection to trigger'
detection:
    taskscheduler:
        Channel: Microsoft-Windows-TaskScheduler/Operational
    selection:
        EventID: 129 # Created Task Process
        Path|contains:
            - C:\Windows\Temp\
            - \AppData\Local\Temp\
            - \Desktop\
            - \Downloads\
            - \Users\Public\
            - C:\Temp\
    # If you experience FP. Uncomment the filter below and add the specific TaskName with the Program to it
    # filter:
    #     TaskName: '\Exact\Task\Name'
    #     Path: 'Exact\Path'
    condition: taskscheduler and selection
falsepositives:
    - Unknown
level: medium
ruletype: Sigma

[[ currentRule.title && currentRule.title.length > 60 ? currentRule.title.slice(0, 60) + '…' : currentRule.title ]]

6e9c47e2-afd9-4edc-9931-f50ff4ae0413

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Executable code, not a declarative rule

This submission is arbitrary [[ currentRule.format ? currentRule.format.toUpperCase() : '' ]] code, not a declarative detection rule — review it as you would any script before running it, and note that it cannot be safely aggregated or auto-executed alongside YARA/Sigma/Suricata/CRS rules.

Rejected pattern present

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Format & documentation suggestions

Not a security issue — this rule is valid and was accepted as-is. These are optional fields/conventions its own format recommends, mainly affecting its quality score and how well it documents itself for other reviewers.

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