Detection: Windows AD GPO Disabled

Updated Date: 2023-11-24 ID: 72793bc0-c0cd-400e-9e60-fdf36f278917 Author: Dean Luxton Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

This detection identifies when an Active Directory Group Policy is disabled using the Group Policy Management Console.

1`wineventlog_security` EventCode=5136 AttributeLDAPDisplayName=flags OperationType="%%14674" AttributeValue!=0 
2| eval AttributeValueExp=case(AttributeValue==0,"Enabled",AttributeValue==1,"User configuration settings disabled",AttributeValue==2,"Computer configuration settings disabled",AttributeValue==3,"Disabled"), ObjectDN=upper(ObjectDN) 
3| join ObjectDN type=inner [
4| search `admon` objectCategory="CN=Group-Policy-Container*" admonEventType=Update 
5| eval ObjectDN=upper(distinguishedName) 
6| stats latest(displayName) as displayName by ObjectDN ] 
7| stats min(_time) as _time values(AttributeValue) as AttributeValue values(AttributeValueExp) as AttributeValueExp values(OpCorrelationID) as OpCorrelationID values(displayName) as policyName values(src_user) as src_user by ObjectDN SubjectLogonId 
8| `windows_ad_gpo_disabled_filter`

Data Source

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

Macros Used

Name Value
admon source=ActiveDirectory
windows_ad_gpo_disabled_filter search *
windows_ad_gpo_disabled_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
T1562.001 Disable or Modify Tools Defense Evasion
T1484.001 Group Policy Modification Defense Evasion
KillChainPhase.EXPLOITAITON
NistCategory.DE_CM
Cis18Value.CIS_10
Aquatic Panda
BRONZE BUTLER
Ember Bear
FIN6
Gamaredon Group
Gorgon Group
Indrik Spider
Kimsuky
Lazarus Group
Magic Hound
MuddyWater
Putter Panda
Rocke
TA2541
TA505
TeamTNT
Turla
Wizard Spider
Cinnamon Tempest
Indrik Spider

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

Ensure you are ingesting Active Directory audit logs - specifically event 5136, admon data is also used to display the display name of the GPO. See lantern article in references for further on how to onboard AD audit data. Ensure the wineventlog_security and admon macros are configured with the correct indexes.

Known False Positives

Unknown

Associated Analytic Story

Risk Based Analytics (RBA)

Risk Message Risk Score Impact Confidence
$src_user$ has disabled GPO $policyName$ 64 80 80
The Risk Score is calculated by the following formula: Risk Score = (Impact * Confidence/100). Initial Confidence and Impact is set by the analytic author.

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: 1