Name:Windows AD Privileged Object Access Activity id:dc2f58bc-8cd2-4e51-962a-694b963acde0 version:8 date:2026-03-10 author:Steven Dick status:production type:TTP Description:The following analytic detects access attempts to privileged Active Directory objects, such as Domain Admins or Enterprise Admins. It leverages Windows Security Event Code 4662 to identify when these sensitive objects are accessed. This activity is significant because such objects should rarely be accessed by normal users or processes, and unauthorized access attempts may indicate attacker enumeration or lateral movement within the domain. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to escalate privileges, persist in the environment, or gain control over critical domain resources. Data_source:
| rex field=ObjectName "CN\=(?<object_name>[^,]+)"
| stats values(Computer) as dest, values(object_name) as object_name, dc(ObjectName) as object_count, min(_time) as firstTime, max(_time) as lastTime, count BY SubjectUserName
how_to_implement:Enable Audit Directory Service Access via GPO and collect event code 4662. The required SACLs need to be created for the relevant objects. Be aware Splunk filters this event by default on the Windows TA. known_false_positives:Service accounts or applications that routinely query Active Directory for information. References: -https://medium.com/securonix-tech-blog/detecting-ldap-enumeration-and-bloodhound-s-sharphound-collector-using-active-directory-decoys-dfc840f2f644 -https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/auditing/event-4662 -https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0007/ drilldown_searches: name:'View the detection results for - "$user$"' search:'%original_detection_search% | search user = "$user$"' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' name:'View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$"' search:'| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$") starthoursago=168 | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`' earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$' latest_offset:'$info_max_time$' tags: analytic_story: - 'Active Directory Discovery' - 'BlackSuit Ransomware' asset_type:Endpoint mitre_attack_id: - 'T1087.002' product: - 'Splunk Enterprise' - 'Splunk Enterprise Security' - 'Splunk Cloud' security_domain:endpoint
