tfMITRE ATT&CK sub-technique

Systemd Timers T1053.006

sub-technique of T1053 Scheduled Task/Job

Tactics: Execution, Persistence, Privilege Escalation
Platform: Linux
Version: 1.3
Created: 12 October 2020
Last modified: 24 October 2025
Contributor: SarathKumar Rajendran, Trimble Inc

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.[1] Systemd timers may be activated remotely via the systemctl command line utility, which operates over SSH.[2]

ReconResource DevInitial AccessExecutionPersistencePriv EscStealthDef ImpairmentCred AccessDiscoveryLateral MoveCollectionC2ExfiltrationImpact

Threat groupsNone recorded

Threat groupsNone recorded · 29% of ATT&CK techniques have none either.

CampaignsNone recorded

CampaignsNone recorded · 54% of ATT&CK techniques have none either.

Tools & malware51st pct

Tools & malware51st percentile · 51% of ATT&CK techniques have this many tools implementing them or fewer.

Detection rules60th pct

Detection rules60th percentile · 60% of ATT&CK techniques have this many detection rules written or fewer.

Systemd Timers MITRE reference T1053.006

51st pctamong all ATT&CK techniques for number of tools

2 software entries are documented implementing this technique. MITRE files each as a tool or as malware; newest first, then by how many groups carry them.

Mini Shai-HuludS9043 ↗

Has obtained persistence on Linux devices by writing the gh-token-monitor daemon within ~/.config/systemd/user/gh-token-monitor.service that polls GitHub every 60 seconds.1 Mini Shai-Hulud has also leveraged a daemon called “kitty-monitor.service” to maintain persistence within Linux hosts.2

created 2026-07-29MALWAREcarried by 1 group

CanisterWormS9042 ↗

Has registered itself as a systemd service for persistence on targeted Kubernetes nodes.1 2

created 2026-07-24MALWAREcarried by 1 group

All 2 software entries for this technique

Offense vs defense T1053.006

Is defensive coverage keeping up with adversary use? Eight counts, each ranked against all 697 ATT&CK techniques. Attack sits left, defense right, so a shape leaning left means adversaries are better documented here than defenders are equipped. Hover any spoke for its percentile and the share of techniques that have more. The timeline below shows when each side arrived.

How it got here

Range

Adversary activity (campaign spans) over cumulative rule output. Each source is plotted independently from zero, so neither line includes the other. Campaign dates are year-granularity.

Campaigns · 0Sigma rules (cumulative) · 0Splunk ESCU (cumulative) · 4

first rule: 2021 Q4

Systemd Timers detection strategy DET0231

MITRE names one behaviour worth catching for this technique and breaks it into 1 analytic, one per platform. Each carries the log sources it needs and the fields you tune per environment.

Behavioral Detection of Systemd Timer Abuse for Scheduled Execution

Enterprise

1 platform

AN0645 · Linux

Detects adversarial abuse of systemd timers by correlating file creation/modification of .timer and .service units in system directories with the execution of abnormal child processes launched by 'systemd' (PID 1), especially as root.

Log sources

The data this analytic draws on. You do not need every component — each one you already collect covers part of it. Each links to its ATT&CK record.

Data component	Name	Channel
Scheduled Job CreationDC0001	linux:osquery	file_events
Process CreationDC0032	auditd:SYSCALL	execve logging for /usr/bin/systemctl and systemd-run
File CreationDC0039	auditd:SYSCALL	creat, open, write on /etc/systemd/system and /usr/lib/systemd/system

Tunable fields

MITRE calls these the analytic’s mutable elements: the thresholds and filters you set for your own environment.

Field	What you tune
TimerIntervalThreshold	The interval threshold used to determine if a newly created timer is unusually frequent or immediate (e.g., < 5 minutes).
ParentProcessID	Whether the child process has a parent PID of 1, indicating systemd as the invoker. Can be tuned to include known benign cases.
UserContext	User under which the timer/service is created or executed (e.g., root vs. non-root).
TimerCreationPath	The path where the timer or service file is created; system-wide vs. user space can be scoped.

Privileged Account ManagementM1026

Limit access to the root account and prevent users from creating and/or modifying systemd timer unit files.

Restrict File and Directory PermissionsM1022

Restrict read/write access to systemd .timer unit files to only select privileged users who have a legitimate need to manage system services.

User Account ManagementM1018

Limit user access to system utilities such as 'systemctl' or 'systemd-run' to users who have a legitimate need.

Tests3Executorssh 2 · bash 1Need elevation2 of 3Have prerequisites2Have cleanup3Platformslinux

Test

Platform

Executor

Elevation

Prereqs

Cleanup

Ref

Create Systemd Service and Timer

linux

bash

Required

—

Yes

This test creates Systemd service and timer then starts and enables the Systemd timer

Input arguments

Name	Type	Default	Description
systemd_timer_name	string	art-timer.timer	Name of systemd service timer
systemd_service_name	string	art-timer.service	Name of systemd service
path_to_systemd_timer	path	/etc/systemd/system/art-timer.timer	Path to service timer file
path_to_systemd_service	path	/etc/systemd/system/art-timer.service	Path to systemd service unit file

Attack command

echo "[Unit]" > #{path_to_systemd_service}
echo "Description=Atomic Red Team Systemd Timer Service" >> #{path_to_systemd_service}
echo "[Service]" >> #{path_to_systemd_service}
echo "Type=simple" >> #{path_to_systemd_service}
echo "ExecStart=/bin/touch /tmp/art-systemd-timer-marker" >> #{path_to_systemd_service}
echo "[Install]" >> #{path_to_systemd_service}
echo "WantedBy=multi-user.target" >> #{path_to_systemd_service}
echo "[Unit]" > #{path_to_systemd_timer}
echo "Description=Executes Atomic Red Team Systemd Timer Service" >> #{path_to_systemd_timer}
echo "Requires=#{systemd_service_name}" >> #{path_to_systemd_timer}
echo "[Timer]" >> #{path_to_systemd_timer}
echo "Unit=#{systemd_service_name}" >> #{path_to_systemd_timer}
echo "OnCalendar=*-*-* *:*:00" >> #{path_to_systemd_timer}
echo "[Install]" >> #{path_to_systemd_timer}
echo "WantedBy=timers.target" >> #{path_to_systemd_timer}
systemctl start #{systemd_timer_name}
systemctl enable #{systemd_timer_name}
systemctl daemon-reload

Cleanup command

systemctl stop #{systemd_timer_name}
systemctl disable #{systemd_timer_name}
rm #{path_to_systemd_service}
rm #{path_to_systemd_timer}
systemctl daemon-reload

GUIDf6e273e5-4c61-4241-bd18-8e287a560598

Create a user level transient systemd service and timer

linux

—

Yes

Create a system level transient systemd service and timer

linux

Required

Yes

Tests from Atomic Red Team (MIT licence) · technique definition

Systemd Timers detections T1053.006

4 rules are mapped to this technique. Parent techniques also include their sub-techniques’ rules. Click a slice or key entry to filter the table.

60th pctamong all ATT&CK techniques for number of rules

Product

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