Windows Unusual Count Of Users Failed To Auth Using Kerberos

 Original Source: [splunk source]
Name:Windows Unusual Count Of Users Failed To Auth Using Kerberos
id:bc9cb715-08ba-40c3-9758-6e2b26e455cb
version:11
date:None
author:Mauricio Velazco, Splunk
status:production
type:Anomaly
Description:The following analytic identifies a source endpoint failing to authenticate multiple valid users using the Kerberos protocol, potentially indicating a Password Spraying attack. It leverages Event 4771, which is generated when the Key Distribution Center fails to issue a Kerberos Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) due to a wrong password (failure code 0x18). This detection uses statistical analysis, specifically the 3-sigma rule, to identify unusual authentication failures. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow an attacker to gain initial access or elevate privileges within an Active Directory environment.
Data_source:
  • -Windows Event Log Security 4771
search:`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4771 TargetUserName!="*$" Status=0x18

| bucket span=5m _time

| stats dc(TargetUserName) AS unique_accounts values(TargetUserName) as user values(dest) as dest
BY _time, IpAddress

| eventstats avg(unique_accounts) as comp_avg , stdev(unique_accounts) as comp_std
BY IpAddress

| eval upperBound=(comp_avg+comp_std*3)

| eval isOutlier=if(unique_accounts > 10 and unique_accounts >= upperBound, 1, 0)

| search isOutlier=1

| `windows_unusual_count_of_users_failed_to_auth_using_kerberos_filter`


how_to_implement:To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting Domain Controller and Kerberos events. The Advanced Security Audit policy setting `Audit Kerberos Authentication Service` within `Account Logon` needs to be enabled.
known_false_positives:A host failing to authenticate with multiple valid domain users is not a common behavior for legitimate systems. Possible false positive scenarios include but are not limited to vulnerability scanners, missconfigured systems and multi-user systems like Citrix farms.
References:
  -https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1110/003/
  -https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-r2-and-2012/dn319109(v=ws.11)
  -https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/auditing/event-4771
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 ("$user$") | 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:'7d'
 latest_offset:'0'
analytic_story:['Active Directory Password Spraying', 'Active Directory Kerberos Attacks', 'Volt Typhoon']

asset_type:Endpoint

mitre_attack_id:['T1110.003']

product:['Splunk Enterprise', 'Splunk Enterprise Security', 'Splunk Cloud']

category:endpoint

security_domain:endpoint

tags:

tests:
 attack_data:
  data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1110.003/purplesharp_valid_users_kerberos_xml/windows-security.log
  source: XmlWinEventLog:Security
  sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
 name:'True Positive Test'
 test_type:'unit'
manual_test:None