ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1110.003 | Password Spraying | Credential Access |
T1110 | Brute Force | Credential Access |
Detection: Windows Unusual Count Of Users Fail To Auth Wth ExplicitCredentials
Description
The following analytic identifies a source user failing to authenticate with multiple users using explicit credentials on a host. It leverages Windows Event Code 4648 and calculates the standard deviation for each host, using the 3-sigma rule to detect anomalies. This behavior is significant as it may indicate a Password Spraying attack, where an adversary attempts to gain initial access or elevate privileges. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to unauthorized access, privilege escalation, or further compromise of the Active Directory environment.
Search
1`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4648 Caller_User_Name!=*$ Target_User_Name!=*$
2| bucket span=5m _time
3| stats dc(Target_User_Name) AS unique_accounts values(Target_User_Name) as user by _time, Computer, Caller_User_Name
4| eventstats avg(unique_accounts) as comp_avg , stdev(unique_accounts) as comp_std by Computer
5| eval upperBound=(comp_avg+comp_std*3)
6| eval isOutlier=if(unique_accounts > 10 and unique_accounts >= upperBound, 1, 0)
7| search isOutlier=1
8| `windows_unusual_count_of_users_fail_to_auth_wth_explicitcredentials_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Event Log Security 4648 | Windows | 'xmlwineventlog' |
'XmlWinEventLog:Security' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
wineventlog_security | eventtype=wineventlog_security OR Channel=security OR source=XmlWinEventLog:Security |
windows_unusual_count_of_users_fail_to_auth_wth_explicitcredentials_filter | search * |
windows_unusual_count_of_users_fail_to_auth_wth_explicitcredentials_filter
is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.
Annotations
Default Configuration
This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:
Setting | Value |
---|---|
Disabled | true |
Cron Schedule | 0 * * * * |
Earliest Time | -70m@m |
Latest Time | -10m@m |
Schedule Window | auto |
Creates Risk Event | True |
Implementation
To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting Windows Event Logs from domain controllers as well as member servers and workstations. The Advanced Security Audit policy setting Audit Logon
within Logon/Logoff
needs to be enabled.
Known False Positives
A source user failing attempting to authenticate multiple users on a host is not a common behavior for regular systems. Some applications, however, may exhibit this behavior in which case sets of users hosts can be added to an allow list. Possible false positive scenarios include systems where several users connect to like Mail servers, identity providers, remote desktop services, Citrix, etc.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
Potential password spraying attack from $Computer$ | 49 | 70 | 70 |
References
Detection Testing
Test Type | Status | Dataset | Source | Sourcetype |
---|---|---|---|---|
Validation | ✅ Passing | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Unit | ✅ Passing | Dataset | XmlWinEventLog:Security |
XmlWinEventLog |
Integration | ✅ Passing | Dataset | XmlWinEventLog:Security |
XmlWinEventLog |
Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py
tool or the UI.
Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range
Source: GitHub | Version: 3