ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1053 | Scheduled Task/Job | Execution |
Detection: Schedule Task with HTTP Command Arguments
Description
The following analytic detects the creation of scheduled tasks on Windows systems that include HTTP command arguments, using Windows Security EventCode 4698. It identifies tasks registered via schtasks.exe or TaskService with HTTP in their command arguments. This behavior is significant as it often indicates malware activity or the use of Living off the Land binaries (lolbins) to download additional payloads. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to data exfiltration, malware propagation, or unauthorized access to sensitive information, necessitating immediate investigation and mitigation.
Search
1`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4698
2| xmlkv Message
3| search Arguments IN ("*http*")
4| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by dest, Task_Name, Command, Author, Enabled, Hidden, Arguments
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
6| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
7| `schedule_task_with_http_command_arguments_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Event Log Security 4698 | Windows | 'xmlwineventlog' |
'XmlWinEventLog:Security' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
security_content_ctime | convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$) |
schedule_task_with_http_command_arguments_filter | search * |
schedule_task_with_http_command_arguments_filter
is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.
Annotations
Default Configuration
This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:
Setting | Value |
---|---|
Disabled | true |
Cron Schedule | 0 * * * * |
Earliest Time | -70m@m |
Latest Time | -10m@m |
Schedule Window | auto |
Creates Notable | Yes |
Rule Title | %name% |
Rule Description | %description% |
Notable Event Fields | user, dest |
Creates Risk Event | True |
Implementation
To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the task schedule (Exa. Security Log EventCode 4698) endpoints. Tune and filter known instances of Task schedule used in your environment.
Known False Positives
unknown
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
A schedule task process commandline arguments $Arguments$ with http string on it in host $dest$ | 63 | 70 | 90 |
References
Detection Testing
Test Type | Status | Dataset | Source | Sourcetype |
---|---|---|---|---|
Validation | ✅ Passing | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Unit | ✅ Passing | Dataset | WinEventLog:Security |
WinEventLog |
Integration | ✅ Passing | Dataset | WinEventLog:Security |
WinEventLog |
Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py
tool or the UI.
Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range
Source: GitHub | Version: 2