Sigma rule: Persistence and Execution at Scale via GPO Scheduled Task

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-91ebd17094d8, updated 2024-09-04T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Persistence and Execution at Scale via GPO Scheduled Task
Status
test
Level
high
Author
Samir Bousseaden
Date
2019-04-03
Modified
2024-09-04
File
rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_gpo_scheduledtasks.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detect lateral movement using GPO scheduled task, usually used to deploy ransomware at scale

Log source

product
windows
service
security
definition
The advanced audit policy setting "Object Access > Audit Detailed File Share" must be configured for Success/Failure

Detection

selection_5136:
    EventID: 5136
    AttributeLDAPDisplayName:
        - 'gPCMachineExtensionNames'
        - 'gPCUserExtensionNames'
    AttributeValue|contains:
        - 'CAB54552-DEEA-4691-817E-ED4A4D1AFC72'
        - 'AADCED64-746C-4633-A97C-D61349046527'
selection_5145:
    EventID: 5145
    ShareName|endswith: '\SYSVOL' # looking for the string \\*\SYSVOL
    RelativeTargetName|endswith: 'ScheduledTasks.xml'
    AccessList|contains:
        - 'WriteData'
        - '%%4417'
condition: 1 of selection_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • If the source IP is not localhost then it's super suspicious, better to monitor both local and remote changes to GPO scheduled tasks.

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.execution
  • attack.persistence
  • attack.lateral-movement
  • attack.t1053.005

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_gpo_scheduledtasks.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Persistence and Execution at Scale via GPO Scheduled Task" by Samir Bousseaden (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_gpo_scheduledtasks.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Persistence and Execution at Scale via GPO Scheduled Task",
entity page, dataset version ref-91ebd17094d8, updated 2024-09-04T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/a8f29a7b-b137-4446-80a0-b804272f3da2 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule a8f29a7b-b137-4446-80a0-b804272f3da2, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.