Detection: Windows Computer Account With SPN

Updated Date: 2024-12-10 ID: 9a3e57e7-33f4-470e-b25d-165baa6e8357 Author: Michael Haag, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the addition of Service Principal Names (SPNs) HOST and RestrictedKrbHost to a computer account, indicative of KrbRelayUp behavior. This detection leverages Windows Security Event Logs, specifically EventCode 4741, to identify changes in SPNs. This activity is significant as it is commonly associated with Kerberos-based attacks, which can be used to escalate privileges or perform lateral movement within a network. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to impersonate services, potentially leading to unauthorized access to sensitive resources.

Search

1`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4741 NewUacValue="0x80" ServicePrincipalNames IN ("*HOST/*","*RestrictedKrbHost/*") 
2| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(EventCode),values(TargetDomainName),values(PrimaryGroupId), values(OldUacValue), values(NewUacValue),values(SamAccountName),values(DnsHostName),values(ServicePrincipalNames) by dest Logon_ID subject 
3| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
4| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
5| `windows_computer_account_with_spn_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Windows Event Log Security 4741	Windows	`'xmlwineventlog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Security'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
security_content_ctime	`convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)`
windows_computer_account_with_spn_filter	`search *`

windows_computer_account_with_spn_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK

+ Kill Chain Phases

+ NIST

+ CIS

- Threat Actors

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1558	Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets	Credential Access

Exploitation

DE.CM

CIS 10

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

This configuration file applies to all detections of type TTP. These detections will use Risk Based Alerting and generate Notable Events.

Implementation

To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting Windows Security Event Logs with 4741 EventCode enabled. The Windows TA is also required.

Known False Positives

It is possible third party applications may add these SPNs to Computer Accounts, filtering may be needed.

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message:

A Computer Account was created with SPNs related to Kerberos on $dest$, possibly indicative of Kerberos relay attack.

Risk Object	Risk Object Type	Risk Score	Threat Objects
dest	system	64	No Threat Objects

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: 6