ID | Technique | Tactic |
---|---|---|
T1484 | Domain or Tenant Policy Modification | Defense Evasion |
T1484.001 | Group Policy Modification | Privilege Escalation |
Detection: Windows Admon Group Policy Object Created
Description
The following analytic detects the creation of a new Group Policy Object (GPO) using Splunk's Admon data. It identifies events where a new GPO is created, excluding default "New Group Policy Object" entries. Monitoring GPO creation is crucial as adversaries can exploit GPOs to escalate privileges or deploy malware across an Active Directory network. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to control system configurations, deploy ransomware, or propagate malware, significantly compromising the network's security.
Search
1`admon` admonEventType=Update objectCategory="CN=Group-Policy-Container,CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=*" versionNumber=0 displayName!="New Group Policy Object"
2| stats min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(gPCFileSysPath) by dcName, displayName
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
5| `windows_admon_group_policy_object_created_filter`
Data Source
Name | Platform | Sourcetype | Source | Supported App |
---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Active Directory Admon | Windows | 'ActiveDirectory' |
'ActiveDirectory' |
N/A |
Macros Used
Name | Value |
---|---|
admon | source=ActiveDirectory |
windows_admon_group_policy_object_created_filter | search * |
windows_admon_group_policy_object_created_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 monitoring Active Directory logs using Admon. Details can be found here https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/SplunkCloud/8.1.2101/Data/MonitorActiveDirectory
Known False Positives
Group Policy Objects are created as part of regular administrative operations, filter as needed.
Associated Analytic Story
Risk Based Analytics (RBA)
Risk Message | Risk Score | Impact | Confidence |
---|---|---|---|
A new group policy objected was created on $dcName$ | 50 | 100 | 50 |
References
-
https://www.trustedsec.com/blog/weaponizing-group-policy-objects-access/
-
https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/SplunkCloud/8.1.2101/Data/MonitorActiveDirectory
Detection Testing
Test Type | Status | Dataset | Source | Sourcetype |
---|---|---|---|---|
Validation | ✅ Passing | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Unit | ✅ Passing | Dataset | ActiveDirectory |
ActiveDirectory |
Integration | ✅ Passing | Dataset | ActiveDirectory |
ActiveDirectory |
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