ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1087 | Account Discovery | Discovery |
T1021.002 | SMB/Windows Admin Shares | Lateral Movement |
T1135 | Network Share Discovery | Discovery |
Detection: Windows Special Privileged Logon On Multiple Hosts
Description
The following analytic detects a user authenticating with special privileges on 30 or more remote endpoints within a 5-minute window. It leverages Event ID 4672 from Windows Security logs to identify this behavior. This activity is significant as it may indicate lateral movement or remote code execution by an adversary. If confirmed malicious, the attacker could gain extensive control over the network, potentially leading to privilege escalation, data exfiltration, or further compromise of the environment. Security teams should adjust detection thresholds based on their specific environment.
Search
1`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4672 AND NOT(Caller_User_Name IN ("DWM-1","DWM-2","DWM-3","LOCAL SERVICE","NETWORK SERVICE","SYSTEM","*$"))
2| bucket span=5m _time
3| stats dc(Computer) AS unique_targets values(Computer) as dest values(PrivilegeList) as privileges by _time, Caller_User_Name
4| rename Caller_User_Name as user
5| where unique_targets > 30
6| `windows_special_privileged_logon_on_multiple_hosts_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Event Log Security 4672 | Windows | 'xmlwineventlog' |
'XmlWinEventLog:Security' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
wineventlog_security | eventtype=wineventlog_security OR Channel=security OR source=XmlWinEventLog:Security |
windows_special_privileged_logon_on_multiple_hosts_filter | search * |
windows_special_privileged_logon_on_multiple_hosts_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 special logon events. The Advanced Security Audit policy setting Audit Special Logon
within Logon/Logoff
need to be enabled.
Known False Positives
Vulnerability scanners or system administration tools may also trigger this detection. Filter as needed.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
A user $user$ obtained special privileges on a large number of endpoints (Count: $unique_targets$) within 5 minutes. | 64 | 80 | 80 |
References
-
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/auditing/event-4672
-
https://thedfirreport.com/2023/01/23/sharefinder-how-threat-actors-discover-file-shares/
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: 4