Scheduled Task/Job: Systemd Timers T1053.006

Tactics: Execution, Persistence, Privilege Escalation

Adversaries may abuse systemd timers to perform task scheduling for initial or recurring execution of malicious code. Systemd timers are unit files with file extension .timer that control services. Timers can be set to run on a calendar event or after a time span relative to a starting point. They can be used as an alternative to Cron in Linux environments. Systemd timers may be activated remotely via the systemctl command line utility, which operates over SSH.

Authoring guide

Patterns shared across the 6 rules above: which fields they filter on, what specific values they look for, and what they exclude. The catalog normalizes field names across vendors so Sigma's Image, Elastic's process.name, and Splunk's process_name collapse into one row. Each rule contributes at most once per row.

Fields filtered most (12 distinct)

The fields most rules look at when detecting this technique. The How column shows the operators authors use (eq, wildcard, regex_match, match) and how often each appears. Sample values are concrete examples to start from, not an exhaustive list.

FieldRulesHowSample values
TargetFilename3wildcard 2, in 1, starts_with 1*/etc/systemd/system*, */etc/systemd/user*, */lib/systemd/system*, /etc/*, /etc/cron.allow
CommandLine2in 2* enable *, * start *, *reenable*, *reload*, *restart*
EventType2in 2creation, rename, open
file.extension2eq 1, in 1timer, service
process_name2in 2service, systemctl
container.id1starts_with 1?
event.type1ne 1deletion
file.name1in 1.bash_aliases, .bash_login, .bash_logout
file_name1ends_with 1.service
host.os.type1eq 1
proctitle1in 1*reenable*, *reload*, *restart*
sourcetype1eq 1auditd

Top indicator values (80 distinct)

Specific (field, operator, value) combinations the rules check for, ranked by how many rules under this technique use each one. The Corpus reach column counts how many rules across the entire catalog (any technique) check the same combination. High numbers point to widely-used indicators that are likely noisy on their own; combine them with another condition for useful signal. Blank means the combination is specific to rules under this technique. Click a value to expand the rules under this technique that use it.

FieldKindValueRules (here)Corpus reach
CommandLinein
*service *
22
CommandLinein
*systemctl *
22
CommandLinein
* enable *
1
CommandLinein
* start *
1
CommandLinein
*reenable*
1
CommandLinein
*reload*
1
CommandLinein
*restart*
1
EventTypein
creation
223
EventTypein
rename
218
EventTypein
open
12
TargetFilenamewildcard
/etc/systemd/system/*
24
TargetFilenamewildcard
/etc/systemd/user/*
23
TargetFilenamewildcard
/home/*/.config/systemd/user/*
24
TargetFilenamewildcard
/home/*/.local/share/systemd/user/*
24
TargetFilenamewildcard
/lib/systemd/system/*
24
TargetFilenamewildcard
/root/.config/systemd/user/*
24
TargetFilenamewildcard
/root/.local/share/systemd/user/*
24
TargetFilenamewildcard
/usr/lib/systemd/system/*
24
TargetFilenamewildcard
/usr/lib/systemd/user/*
23
TargetFilenamewildcard
/usr/local/lib/systemd/system/*
24
process_namein
service
26
process_namein
systemctl
26
TargetFilenamein
*/etc/systemd/system*
1
TargetFilenamein
*/etc/systemd/user*
1
TargetFilenamein
*/lib/systemd/system*
1
TargetFilenamein
*/lib/systemd/user*
1
TargetFilenamein
*/run/systemd/system*
1
TargetFilenamein
*/run/systemd/user*
1
TargetFilenamein
*/usr/lib/systemd/system*
1
TargetFilenamein
*/usr/lib/systemd/user*
1

Exclusions (103 distinct)

Field/operator/value combinations excluded by rules under this technique (top-level not() clauses), sorted by how many rules exclude each. These are the false-positive paths the community has learned to filter out. A new rule that ignores the high-count entries here will likely fire on the same noisy paths. Click a value to expand the rules under this technique that exclude it.

FieldKindValueRules excluding
Imagein
./usr/bin/podman
1
Imagein
/bin/autossl_check
1
Imagein
/bin/chef-client
1
Imagein
/bin/dnf
1
Imagein
/bin/dnf-automatic
1
Imagein
/bin/dockerd
1
Imagein
/bin/dpkg
1
Imagein
/bin/dpkg-divert
1
Imagein
/bin/install
1
Imagein
/bin/microdnf
1
Imagein
/bin/pacman
1
Imagein
/bin/pamac-daemon
1
Imagein
/bin/podman
1
Imagein
/bin/puppet
1
Imagein
/bin/rpm
1

Rules under this technique

Every rule in the catalog tagged with this technique, grouped by vendor. Click a rule title for its full predicates, exclusions, and indicators.

Platform (all)
Domain (all)

Elastic 2 rules

Splunk 4 rules