Detection: Windows AD add Self to Group

Updated Date: 2023-12-18 ID: 065f2701-b7ea-42f5-9ec4-fbc2261165f9 Author: Dean Luxton Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

This analytic detects instances where a user adds themselves to an Active Directory (AD) group. This activity is a common indicator of privilege escalation, where a user attempts to gain unauthorized access to higher privileges or sensitive resources. By monitoring AD logs, this detection identifies such suspicious behavior, which could be part of a larger attack strategy aimed at compromising critical systems and data.

1`wineventlog_security` EventCode IN (4728) 
2| where user=src_user 
3| stats min(_time) as _time dc(user) as usercount, values(user) as user values(user_category) as user_category values(src_user_category) as src_user_category values(dvc) as dvc by signature, Group_Name, src_user 
4| `windows_ad_add_self_to_group_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source Supported App
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Macros Used

Name Value
wineventlog_security eventtype=wineventlog_security OR Channel=security OR source=XmlWinEventLog:Security
windows_ad_add_self_to_group_filter search *
windows_ad_add_self_to_group_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
T1098 Account Manipulation Persistence
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
KillChainPhase.INSTALLATION
NistCategory.DE_CM
Cis18Value.CIS_10
APT3
APT41
APT5
Dragonfly
FIN13
HAFNIUM
Kimsuky
Lazarus Group
Magic Hound

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

This analytic requires eventCode 4728 to be ingested.

Known False Positives

Unknown

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
$user$ added themselves to AD Group $Group_Name$ 50 50 100
The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

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: 1