Windows Valid Account With Never Expires Password

Original Source: [splunk source]
Name:Windows Valid Account With Never Expires Password
id:73a931db-1830-48b3-8296-cd9cfa09c3c8
version:6
date:2025-01-24
author:Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status:deprecated
type:TTP
Description:The following analytic has been deprecated. The following analytic detects the use of net.exe to update user account policies to set passwords as non-expiring. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on command-line executions involving "/maxpwage:unlimited". This activity is significant as it can indicate an attempt to maintain persistence, escalate privileges, evade defenses, or facilitate lateral movement. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to maintain long-term access to compromised accounts, potentially leading to further exploitation and unauthorized access to sensitive information.
Data_source:
  • -Sysmon EventID 1
  • -Windows Event Log Security 4688
  • -CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2
search:| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` values(Processes.process) as process min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime from datamodel=Endpoint.Processes where `process_net` AND Processes.process="* accounts *" AND Processes.process="* /maxpwage:unlimited" by Processes.dest Processes.user Processes.parent_process_name Processes.process_name Processes.original_file_name Processes.process Processes.process_id Processes.parent_process_id
| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `windows_valid_account_with_never_expires_password_filter`


how_to_implement:The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the `Processes` node of the `Endpoint` data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.
known_false_positives:This behavior is not commonly seen in production environment and not advisable, filter as needed.
References:
  -https://app.any.run/tasks/a6f2ffe2-e6e2-4396-ae2e-04ea0143f2d8/
  -https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/networking/net-commands-on-operating-systems
drilldown_searches:
name:'View the detection results for - "$dest$"'
search:'%original_detection_search% | search dest = "$dest$"'
earliest_offset:'$info_min_time$'
latest_offset:'$info_max_time$'
name:'View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$dest$"'
search:'| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$dest$") 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:
    - 'Azorult'
    - 'Compromised Windows Host'
  asset_type:Endpoint
  mitre_attack_id:
    - 'T1489'
  product:
    - 'Splunk Enterprise'
    - 'Splunk Enterprise Security'
    - 'Splunk Cloud'
  security_domain:endpoint

tests:
name:'True Positive Test'
 attack_data:
  data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/malware/azorult/sysmon.log
  source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
  sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
manual_test:None

Related Analytic Stories


Compromised Windows Host

Azorult