GitHub Repo

Detection: Windows Powershell Logoff User via Quser

Updated Date: 2026-06-29 ID: 6d70780d-4cfe-4820-bafd-1b43941986b5 Author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the process of logging off a user through the use of the quser and logoff commands. By monitoring for these commands, the analytic identifies actions where a user session is forcibly terminated, which could be part of an administrative task or a potentially unauthorized access attempt. This detection helps identify potential misuse or malicious activity where a user's access is revoked without proper authorization, providing insight into potential security incidents involving account management or session manipulation.

 1`powershell`
 2EventCode=4104
 3ScriptBlockText = "*quser*logoff*"
 4
 5| fillnull
 6
 7| stats count min(_time) as firstTime
 8              max(_time) as lastTime
 9  by dest signature signature_id
10     user_id vendor_product EventID
11     Guid Opcode Name
12     Path ProcessID ScriptBlockId
13     ScriptBlockText
14
15| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
16
17| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
18
19| `windows_powershell_logoff_user_via_quser_filter`

Data Source

Name Platform Sourcetype Source
Powershell Script Block Logging 4104 Windows icon Windows 'XmlWinEventLog' 'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational'

Macros Used

Name Value
powershell (source=WinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational OR source="XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational" OR source=WinEventLog:PowerShellCore/Operational OR source="XmlWinEventLog:PowerShellCore/Operational")
windows_powershell_logoff_user_via_quser_filter search *
windows_powershell_logoff_user_via_quser_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
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
T1531 Account Access Removal Impact
Installation
Actions on Objectives
DE.AE
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 Finding (Notable) No
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event) Yes
Anomaly detections generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events). They do not generate a Finding (Notable) directly.

Implementation

The following Hunting analytic requires PowerShell operational logs to be imported. Modify the powershell macro as needed to match the sourcetype or add index. This analytic is specific to 4104, or PowerShell Script Block Logging.

Known False Positives

Administrators or power users may use this command.

Associated Analytic Story

Intermediate Findings

Message Entity Field Entity Type Risk Score
A suspicious powershell script with the ScriptBlockId [$ScriptBlockId$] containing quser and logoff commands to potentially logoff user was executed on host $dest$ dest system 20
A suspicious powershell script with the ScriptBlockId [$ScriptBlockId$] containing quser and logoff commands to potentially logoff user was executed on host $dest$ by user $user_id$ user_id user 20

References

Detection Testing

Test Type Status Dataset Source Sourcetype
Validation ✅ Passing N/A N/A N/A
Unit ✅ Passing Dataset XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational XmlWinEventLog
Integration ✅ Passing Dataset XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational 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: 9