ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1098 | Account Manipulation | Persistence |
T1078 | Valid Accounts | Privilege Escalation |
Detection: Windows Multiple Accounts Deleted
Description
The following analytic detects the deletion of more than five unique Windows accounts within a 10-minute period, using Event Code 4726 from the Windows Security Event Log. It leverages the wineventlog_security
dataset, segmenting data into 10-minute intervals to identify suspicious account deletions. This activity is significant as it may indicate an attacker attempting to erase traces of their actions. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to unauthorized access removal, hindering incident response and forensic investigations.
Search
1`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4726 status=success
2| bucket span=10m _time
3| stats count dc(user) as unique_users values(user) as user by EventCode signature _time src_user SubjectDomainName TargetDomainName Logon_ID
4| where unique_users > 5
5| `windows_multiple_accounts_deleted_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Event Log Security 4726 | Windows | 'xmlwineventlog' |
'XmlWinEventLog:Security' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
wineventlog_security | eventtype=wineventlog_security OR Channel=security OR source=XmlWinEventLog:Security |
windows_multiple_accounts_deleted_filter | search * |
windows_multiple_accounts_deleted_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 Notable | Yes |
Rule Title | %name% |
Rule Description | %description% |
Notable Event Fields | user, dest |
Creates Risk Event | True |
Implementation
To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting Domain Controller events with the Windows TA. The Advanced Security Audit policy setting Audit User Account Management
within Account Management
needs to be enabled.
Known False Positives
Service accounts may be responsible for the creation, deletion or modification of accounts for legitimate purposes. Filter as needed.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
User $src_user$ deleted multiple accounts in a short period of time. | 18 | 30 | 60 |
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