Name:Windows Scheduled Task Created Via XML id:7e03b682-3965-4598-8e91-a60a40a3f7e4 version:11 date:2025-12-18 author:Teoderick Contreras, Nasreddine Bencherchali, Splunk status:production type:Anomaly Description:The following analytic detects the creation of scheduled tasks in Windows using schtasks.exe with the "XML" parameter.
This detection leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on command-line executions and process details.
This activity is significant as it is a common technique for establishing persistence or achieving privilege escalation, often used by malware like Trickbot and Winter-Vivern. While creating a scheduled task via XML may be legitimate, it can also be abused by attackers. If confirmed malicious, this could allow attackers to maintain access, execute additional payloads, and potentially lead to data theft or ransomware deployment.
Data_source:
-Sysmon EventID 1
-Windows Event Log Security 4688
-CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2
search:| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime
from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where
(Processes.process_name=schtasks.exe OR Processes.original_file_name=schtasks.exe) Processes.process IN ("* /create *", "* -create *") Processes.process IN ("* /xml *", "* -xml *")
how_to_implement:The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the `Processes` node of the `Endpoint` data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process. known_false_positives:Installers are known to create scheduled tasks via XML. Apply additional filters as needed. References: -https://twitter.com/_CERT_UA/status/1620781684257091584 -https://cert.gov.ua/article/3761104 drilldown_searches: name:'View the detection results for - "$dest$" and "$user$"' search:'%original_detection_search% | search dest = "$dest$" user = "$user$"' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' name:'View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$" and "$user$"' search:'| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$", "$user$") starthoursago=168 | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' tags: analytic_story: - 'Winter Vivern' - 'Malicious Inno Setup Loader' - 'CISA AA23-347A' - 'Scheduled Tasks' - 'MoonPeak' - 'Lokibot' asset_type:Endpoint mitre_attack_id: - 'T1053.005' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:endpoint
