Cron Job Created or Modified
This rule monitors for (ana)cron jobs being created or renamed. Linux cron jobs are scheduled tasks that can be leveraged by system administrators to set up scheduled tasks, but may be abused by malicious actors for…
Description
This rule monitors for (ana)cron jobs being created or renamed. Linux cron jobs are scheduled tasks that can be leveraged by system administrators to set up scheduled tasks, but may be abused by malicious actors for persistence, privilege escalation and command execution. By creating or modifying cron job configurations, attackers can execute malicious commands or scripts at predefined intervals, ensuring their continued presence and enabling unauthorized activities.
Detection logic
Its licence does not clear it for publishing here
Sunturai publishes a detection's own text where the licence it arrived under has been reviewed and permits it, and Elastic License 2.0 has not. The query as its source wrote it, its canonical form and the hash that pins this revision are in the workspace record.
Detection requirements
- Platform
- ContainersESXiLinuxmacOSNetwork DevicesWindows
The rule states no platform. This is derived from the ATT&CK technique it maps to.
- Log source category
- event_index
MITRE ATT&CK mappings
0 exclusive techniques.This is coverage no other published rule has; it is not this rule's total technique count.
References
| Reference | Cited by |
|---|---|
| pberba.github.io/security/2022/01/30/linux-threat-hunting-for-persistence-systemd-timers-cron/ | 5from 2 sources |
| www.elastic.co/security-labs/primer-on-persistence-mechanisms | 27from 2 sources |
From the source
- At source
- Open at source
- Upstream identifier
- ff10d4d8-fea7-422d-afb1-e5a2702369a9
- Tagged by the source as
- Data Source: Elastic DefendDomain: EndpointNoise: HighOS: LinuxPerformance: NormalPlatform: LinuxProfile: AggressiveResources: Investigation GuideResources: OsqueryRule Type: Event Correlation (EQL)Tactic: ExecutionTactic: PersistenceTactic: Privilege EscalationUse Case: Threat Detection
Licence
- Published under
- Elastic License 2.0Read the licence
- Attribution
- Required
Authorship
- Written by
- Published
- Sep 20, 2026
- Version
- 3