GitHub Repo

Detection: PowerShell Domain Enumeration

Updated Date: 2026-06-28 ID: e1866ce2-ca22-11eb-8e44-acde48001122 Author: Michael Haag, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the execution of PowerShell commands used for domain enumeration, such as get-netdomaintrust and get-adgroupmember. It leverages PowerShell Script Block Logging (EventCode=4104) to capture and analyze the full command sent to PowerShell. This activity is significant as it often indicates reconnaissance efforts by an attacker to map out the domain structure and identify key users and groups. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could lead to further targeted attacks, privilege escalation, and unauthorized access to sensitive information within the domain.

 1`powershell`
 2EventCode=4104
 3ScriptBlockText IN (
 4    *get-netdomaintrust*,
 5    *get-netforesttrust*,
 6    *get-addomain*,
 7    *get-adgroupmember*,
 8    *get-domainuser*
 9)
10
11| fillnull
12
13| stats count min(_time) as firstTime
14              max(_time) as lastTime
15  BY dest signature signature_id
16       user_id vendor_product EventID
17       Guid Opcode Name
18       Path ProcessID ScriptBlockId
19       ScriptBlockText
20  
21| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
22  
23| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
24  
25| `powershell_domain_enumeration_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
security_content_ctime convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)
powershell_domain_enumeration_filter search *
powershell_domain_enumeration_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
Installation
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

To successfully implement this analytic, you will need to enable PowerShell Script Block Logging on some or all endpoints. Additional setup here https://help.splunk.com/en/security-offerings/splunk-user-behavior-analytics/get-data-in/5.4.1/add-other-data-to-splunk-uba/configure-powershell-logging-to-see-powershell-anomalies-in-splunk-uba.

Known False Positives

Legitimate use can be common or expected in certain environments. Filter as needed.

Associated Analytic Story

Intermediate Findings

Message Entity Field Entity Type Risk Score
A suspicious powershell script with the ScriptBlockId [$ScriptBlockId$] contains domain enumeration commands executed on host $dest$ dest system 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: 16