windows-itpro-docs/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/domain-controller-allow-server-operators-to-schedule-tasks.md

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Domain controller Allow server operators to schedule tasks (Windows 10)	Describes the best practices, location, values, and security considerations for the Domain controller Allow server operators to schedule tasks security policy setting.	198b12a4-8a5d-48e8-a752-2073b8a2cb0d		dansimp	w10	deploy	library	security	medium	dansimp	dansimp	ITPro	M365-security-compliance	conceptual	04/19/2017

Domain controller: Allow server operators to schedule tasks

Applies to

• Windows 10

Describes the best practices, location, values, and security considerations for the Domain controller: Allow server operators to schedule tasks security policy setting.

Reference

This policy setting determines whether server operators can use theat command to submit jobs. If you enable this policy setting, jobs that are created by server operators by means of the at command run in the context of the account that runs the Task Scheduler service. By default, that is the Local System account.

Note:  This security option setting affects only the scheduler tool for the at command. It does not affect the Task Scheduler tool.

Enabling this policy setting means jobs that are created by server operators through the at command will be executed in the context of the account that is running that service—by default, that is the Local System account. This means that server operators can perform tasks that the Local System account is able to do, but server operators would normally not be able to do, such as add their account to the local Administrators group.

The impact of enabling this policy setting should be small for most organizations. Users, including those in the Server Operators group, will still be able to create jobs by using the Task Scheduler Wizard, but those jobs will run in the context of the account that the user authenticates with when setting up the job.

Possible values

• Enabled
• Disabled
• Not defined

Best practices

• Best practices for this policy are dependent on your security and operational requirements for task scheduling.

Location

Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options

Default values

The following table lists the actual and effective default values for this policy. Default values are also listed on the policy’s property page.

Server type or GPO	Default value
Default Domain Policy	Not defined
Default Domain Controller Policy	Not defined
Stand-Alone Server Default Settings	Not defined
DC Effective Default Settings	Not defined
Member Server Effective Default Settings	Not defined
Client Computer Effective Default Settings	Not defined

Policy management

This section describes features and tools that are available to help you manage this policy.

Restart requirement

None. Changes to this policy become effective without a device restart when they are saved locally or distributed through Group Policy.

Command-line tools

The at command schedules commands and programs to run on a computer at a specified time and date. The Schedule service must be running to use the at command.

Security considerations

This section describes how an attacker might exploit a feature or its configuration, how to implement the countermeasure, and the possible negative consequences of countermeasure implementation.

Vulnerability

Tasks that run under the context of the Local System account can affect resources that are at a higher privilege level than the user account that scheduled the task.

Countermeasure

Disable the Domain controller: Allow server operators to schedule tasks setting.

Potential impact

The impact should be small for most organizations. Users (including those in the Server Operators group) can still create jobs by means of the Task Scheduler snap-in. However, those jobs run in the context of the account that the user authenticates with when setting up the job.

Related topics

• Security Options