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Description

The following analytic detects the execution of the Get-ADDefaultDomainPasswordPolicy PowerShell cmdlet, which is used to retrieve the password policy in a Windows domain. This detection leverages PowerShell Script Block Logging (EventCode=4104) to identify the specific command execution. Monitoring this activity is significant as it can indicate an attempt to gather domain policy information, which is often a precursor to further malicious actions. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow an attacker to understand password policies, aiding in password attacks or further domain enumeration.

  • Type: Hunting

  • Product: Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk Cloud

  • Last Updated: 2024-05-27
  • Author: Teoderick Contreras, Mauricio Velazco, Splunk
  • ID: 1ff7ccc8-065a-11ec-91e4-acde48001122

Annotations

ATT&CK

ATT&CK

ID Technique Tactic
T1201 Password Policy Discovery Discovery
Kill Chain Phase
  • Exploitation
NIST
  • DE.AE
CIS20
  • CIS 10
CVE 


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`powershell` EventCode=4104 ScriptBlockText ="*Get-ADDefaultDomainPasswordPolicy*" 
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by EventCode ScriptBlockText Computer UserID 
| rename Computer as dest, UserID as user 
|  `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
| `get_addefaultdomainpasswordpolicy_with_powershell_script_block_filter`

Macros

The SPL above uses the following Macros:

:information_source: get_addefaultdomainpasswordpolicy_with_powershell_script_block_filter is a empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Required fields

List of fields required to use this analytic.

  • _time
  • EventCode
  • Message
  • ComputerName
  • User

How To Implement

The following Hunting analytic requires PowerShell operational logs to be imported. Modify the powershell macro as needed to match the sourcetype or add index. This analytic is specific to 4104, or PowerShell Script Block Logging.

Known False Positives

Administrators or power users may use this command for troubleshooting.

Associated Analytic Story

RBA

Risk Score Impact Confidence Message
9.0 30 30 Powershell process having commandline "Get-ADDefaultDomainPasswordPolicy" to query domain password policy on $dest$

:information_source: The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

Reference

Test Dataset

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 | version: 3