MITRE ATT&CK Technique
Description
Adversaries may abuse the [at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) utility to perform task scheduling for initial, recurring, or future execution of malicious code. The [at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) command within Linux operating systems enables administrators to schedule tasks.(Citation: Kifarunix - Task Scheduling in Linux) An adversary may use [at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) in Linux environments to execute programs at system startup or on a scheduled basis for persistence. [at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) can also be abused to conduct remote Execution as part of Lateral Movement and or to run a process under the context of a specified account. Adversaries may also abuse [at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) to break out of restricted environments by using a task to spawn an interactive system shell or to run system commands. Similarly, [at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) may also be used for [Privilege Escalation](https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0004) if the binary is allowed to run as superuser via <code>sudo</code>.(Citation: GTFObins at)
Supported Platforms
Created
April 29, 2026
Last Updated
April 29, 2026
STIX Data
{'created': '2019-12-03T12:59:36.749Z',
'created_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
'description': 'Adversaries may abuse the '
'[at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) utility to '
'perform task scheduling for initial, recurring, or future '
'execution of malicious code. The '
'[at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) command within '
'Linux operating systems enables administrators to schedule '
'tasks.(Citation: Kifarunix - Task Scheduling in Linux)\n'
'\n'
'An adversary may use '
'[at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) in Linux '
'environments to execute programs at system startup or on a '
'scheduled basis for persistence. '
'[at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) can also be '
'abused to conduct remote Execution as part of Lateral '
'Movement and or to run a process under the context of a '
'specified account.\n'
'\n'
'Adversaries may also abuse '
'[at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) to break out of '
'restricted environments by using a task to spawn an '
'interactive system shell or to run system commands. '
'Similarly, [at](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0110) may '
'also be used for [Privilege '
'Escalation](https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0004) if the '
'binary is allowed to run as superuser via '
'<code>sudo</code>.(Citation: GTFObins at)',
'external_references': [{'external_id': 'T1053.001',
'source_name': 'mitre-attack',
'url': 'https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1053/001'},
{'description': 'Craig Rowland. (2019, July 25). '
'Getting an Attacker IP Address from '
'a Malicious Linux At Job. Retrieved '
'October 15, 2021.',
'source_name': 'rowland linux at 2019',
'url': 'https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/getting-attacker-ip-address-from-malicious-linux-job-craig-rowland/'},
{'description': 'Emilio Pinna, Andrea Cardaci. '
'(n.d.). gtfobins at. Retrieved '
'September 28, 2021.',
'source_name': 'GTFObins at',
'url': 'https://gtfobins.github.io/gtfobins/at/'},
{'description': 'Koromicha. (2019, September 7). '
'Scheduling tasks using at command in '
'Linux. Retrieved December 3, 2019.',
'source_name': 'Kifarunix - Task Scheduling in Linux',
'url': 'https://kifarunix.com/scheduling-tasks-using-at-command-in-linux/'}],
'id': 'attack-pattern--6636bc83-0611-45a6-b74f-1f3daf635b8e',
'kill_chain_phases': [{'kill_chain_name': 'mitre-attack',
'phase_name': 'execution'},
{'kill_chain_name': 'mitre-attack',
'phase_name': 'persistence'},
{'kill_chain_name': 'mitre-attack',
'phase_name': 'privilege-escalation'}],
'modified': '2025-10-24T17:48:52.747Z',
'name': 'At (Linux)',
'object_marking_refs': ['marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168'],
'revoked': True,
'spec_version': '2.1',
'type': 'attack-pattern',
'x_mitre_attack_spec_version': '3.2.0',
'x_mitre_deprecated': False,
'x_mitre_detection': '',
'x_mitre_domains': ['enterprise-attack'],
'x_mitre_is_subtechnique': True,
'x_mitre_modified_by_ref': 'identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5',
'x_mitre_platforms': ['Linux'],
'x_mitre_version': '1.2'}