User account added to built in domain local or global group

Severity: low
Time window: 1d
Author: Microsoft Security Research
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

Identifies when a user account has been added to a privileged built in domain local group or global group such as the Enterprise Admins, Cert Publishers or DnsAdmins. Be sure to verify this is an expected addition.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Persistence	`T1078` Valid Accounts, `T1098` Account Manipulation
Privilege Escalation	`T1078` Valid Accounts, `T1098` Account Manipulation

Event coverage

Provider	Event	Title
Security-Auditing	Event ID 4728	A member was added to a security-enabled global group.
Security-Auditing	Event ID 4732	A member was added to a security-enabled local group.
Security-Auditing	Event ID 4756	A member was added to a security-enabled universal group.

Rule body kusto

id: a35f2c18-1b97-458f-ad26-e033af18eb99
name: User account added to built in domain local or global group
description: |
  'Identifies when a user account has been added to a privileged built in domain local group or global group such as the Enterprise Admins, Cert Publishers or DnsAdmins. Be sure to verify this is an expected addition.'
severity: Low
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: SecurityEvents
    dataTypes:
      - SecurityEvent
  - connectorId: WindowsSecurityEvents
    dataTypes:
      - SecurityEvent
  - connectorId: WindowsForwardedEvents
    dataTypes:
      - WindowsEvent
queryFrequency: 1d
queryPeriod: 1d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
  - Persistence
  - PrivilegeEscalation
relevantTechniques:
  - T1098
  - T1078
query: |
  // For AD SID mappings - https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/security/identity-protection/access-control/active-directory-security-groups
  let WellKnownLocalSID = "S-1-5-32-5[0-9][0-9]$";
  let WellKnownGroupSID = "S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-5[0-9][0-9]$|S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-1102$|S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-1103$|S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-498$|S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-1000$";
  union isfuzzy=true
  (
  SecurityEvent
  // 4728 - A member was added to a security-enabled global group
  // 4732 - A member was added to a security-enabled local group
  // 4756 - A member was added to a security-enabled universal group
  | where EventID in (4728, 4732, 4756)
  | where AccountType == "User"
  | where TargetSid matches regex WellKnownLocalSID or TargetSid matches regex WellKnownGroupSID
  // Exclude Remote Desktop Users group: S-1-5-32-555
  | where TargetSid !in ("S-1-5-32-555")
  | extend SimpleMemberName = iff(MemberName == "-", MemberName, substring(MemberName, 3, indexof_regex(MemberName, @",OU|,CN") - 3))
  | project TimeGenerated, EventID, Activity, Computer, SimpleMemberName, MemberName, MemberSid, TargetAccount, TargetUserName, TargetDomainName, TargetSid, UserPrincipalName, 
  SubjectAccount, SubjectUserName, SubjectDomainName, SubjectUserSid
  ),
  (
  WindowsEvent
  // 4728 - A member was added to a security-enabled global group
  // 4732 - A member was added to a security-enabled local group
  // 4756 - A member was added to a security-enabled universal group
  | where EventID in (4728, 4732, 4756) and not(EventData has "S-1-5-32-555")
  | extend SubjectUserSid = tostring(EventData.SubjectUserSid)
  | extend Account =  strcat(tostring(EventData.SubjectDomainName),"\\", tostring(EventData.SubjectUserName))
  | extend AccountType=case(Account endswith "$" or SubjectUserSid in ("S-1-5-18", "S-1-5-19", "S-1-5-20"), "Machine", isempty(SubjectUserSid), "", "User")
  | extend MemberName = tostring(EventData.MemberName)
  | where AccountType == "User"
  | extend TargetSid = tostring(EventData.TargetSid)
  | where TargetSid matches regex WellKnownLocalSID or TargetSid matches regex WellKnownGroupSID
  // Exclude Remote Desktop Users group: S-1-5-32-555
  | where TargetSid !in ("S-1-5-32-555")
  | extend SimpleMemberName = iff(MemberName == "-", MemberName, substring(MemberName, 3, indexof_regex(MemberName, @",OU|,CN") - 3))
  | extend MemberSid = tostring(EventData.MemberSid)
  | extend TargetUserName = tostring(EventData.TargetUserName), TargetDomainName = tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName), 
  TargetAccount = strcat(tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName),"\\", tostring(EventData.TargetUserName))
  | extend UserPrincipalName = tostring(EventData.UserPrincipalName)
  | extend SubjectUserName = tostring(EventData.SubjectUserName), SubjectDomainName = tostring(EventData.SubjectDomainName), 
  SubjectAccount = strcat(tostring(EventData.SubjectDomainName),"\\", tostring(EventData.SubjectUserName))
  | project TimeGenerated, EventID, Computer, SimpleMemberName, MemberName, MemberSid, TargetAccount, TargetUserName, TargetDomainName, TargetSid, UserPrincipalName, 
  SubjectAccount, SubjectUserName, SubjectDomainName, SubjectUserSid
  )
  | extend GroupAddedMemberTo = TargetAccount, AddedByAccount = SubjectAccount, AddedByAccountName = SubjectUserName, AddedByAccountDomainName = SubjectDomainName, 
  AddedByAccountSid = SubjectUserSid, AddedMemberName = SimpleMemberName, AddedMemberSid = MemberSid
  | extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Computer, '.'))
  | extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Computer, DomainIndex + 1), Computer)
  | project-away DomainIndex
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: SubjectAccount
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: SubjectUserName
      - identifier: NTDomain
        columnName: SubjectDomainName
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Sid
        columnName: SubjectUserSid
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: AddedMemberName
      - identifier: Sid
        columnName: AddedMemberSid
  - entityType: Host
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: Computer
      - identifier: HostName
        columnName: HostName
      - identifier: NTDomain
        columnName: HostNameDomain
version: 1.3.8
kind: Scheduled
metadata:
    source:
        kind: Community
    author:
        name: Microsoft Security Research
    support:
        tier: Community
    categories:
        domains: [ "Security - Others", "Identity" ]

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

let WellKnownLocalSID = "S-1-5-32-5[0-9][0-9]$";

Let binding: `WellKnownGroupSID`

let WellKnownGroupSID = "S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-5[0-9][0-9]$|S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-1102$|S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-1103$|S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-498$|S-1-5-21-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-[0-9]*-1000$";

union `isfuzzy=true` (2 sources)

Each leg below queries one source; the rule matches if any leg does. Sources: SecurityEvent, WindowsEvent

Leg 1: `SecurityEvent`

SecurityEvent
| where EventID in (4728, 4732, 4756)
| where AccountType == "User"
| where TargetSid matches regex WellKnownLocalSID or TargetSid matches regex WellKnownGroupSID
| where TargetSid !in ("S-1-5-32-555")
| extend SimpleMemberName = iff(MemberName == "-", MemberName, substring(MemberName, 3, indexof_regex(MemberName, @",OU|,CN") - 3))
| project TimeGenerated, EventID, Activity, Computer, SimpleMemberName, MemberName, MemberSid, TargetAccount, TargetUserName, TargetDomainName, TargetSid, UserPrincipalName, 
SubjectAccount, SubjectUserName, SubjectDomainName, SubjectUserSid

Leg 2: `WindowsEvent`

WindowsEvent
| where EventID in (4728, 4732, 4756) and not(EventData has "S-1-5-32-555")
| extend SubjectUserSid = tostring(EventData.SubjectUserSid)
| extend Account =  strcat(tostring(EventData.SubjectDomainName),"\\", tostring(EventData.SubjectUserName))
| extend AccountType=case(Account endswith "$" or SubjectUserSid in ("S-1-5-18", "S-1-5-19", "S-1-5-20"), "Machine", isempty(SubjectUserSid), "", "User")
| extend MemberName = tostring(EventData.MemberName)
| where AccountType == "User"
| extend TargetSid = tostring(EventData.TargetSid)
| where TargetSid matches regex WellKnownLocalSID or TargetSid matches regex WellKnownGroupSID
| where TargetSid !in ("S-1-5-32-555")
| extend SimpleMemberName = iff(MemberName == "-", MemberName, substring(MemberName, 3, indexof_regex(MemberName, @",OU|,CN") - 3))
| extend MemberSid = tostring(EventData.MemberSid)
| extend TargetUserName = tostring(EventData.TargetUserName), TargetDomainName = tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName), 
TargetAccount = strcat(tostring(EventData.TargetDomainName),"\\", tostring(EventData.TargetUserName))
| extend UserPrincipalName = tostring(EventData.UserPrincipalName)
| extend SubjectUserName = tostring(EventData.SubjectUserName), SubjectDomainName = tostring(EventData.SubjectDomainName), 
SubjectAccount = strcat(tostring(EventData.SubjectDomainName),"\\", tostring(EventData.SubjectUserName))
| project TimeGenerated, EventID, Computer, SimpleMemberName, MemberName, MemberSid, TargetAccount, TargetUserName, TargetDomainName, TargetSid, UserPrincipalName, 
SubjectAccount, SubjectUserName, SubjectDomainName, SubjectUserSid

Applied to the combined result

| extend GroupAddedMemberTo = TargetAccount, AddedByAccount = SubjectAccount, AddedByAccountName = SubjectUserName, AddedByAccountDomainName = SubjectDomainName, 
AddedByAccountSid = SubjectUserSid, AddedMemberName = SimpleMemberName, AddedMemberSid = MemberSid
| extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Computer, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Computer, DomainIndex + 1), Computer)
| project-away DomainIndex

Exclusions

Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts: predicates this rule actively suppresses.

Field	Kind	Excluded values
`TargetSid`	eq	`S-1-5-32-555`
`EventData`	match	`S-1-5-32-555`
`TargetSid`	eq	`S-1-5-32-555`

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

Field	Kind	Values
`AccountType`	eq	`User` transforms: `cased` corpus 9 (kusto 9)
`EventID`	in	`4728` transforms: `cased` corpus 3 (splunk 3) `4732` transforms: `cased` corpus 4 (splunk 3, kusto 1) `4756` transforms: `cased`
`TargetSid`	regex_match	`S-1-5-21-[0-9]-[0-9]-[0-9]-5[0-9][0-9]$` `S-1-5-21-[0-9]-[0-9]-[0-9]-1102$` `S-1-5-21-[0-9]-[0-9]-[0-9]-1103$` `S-1-5-21-[0-9]-[0-9]-[0-9]-498$` `S-1-5-21-[0-9]-[0-9]-[0-9]*-1000$` corpus 3 (kusto 3) `S-1-5-32-5[0-9][0-9]$` corpus 3 (kusto 3)

Output fields

Fields the rule emits when it matches. Chronicle authors list these in the outcome block; they appear on the detection and $risk_score drives alerting. Sentinel / Defender XDR rules build them up through project / summarize / extend stages. Sentinel maps these into alert fields via entityMappings and customDetails; Defender XDR custom detections surface them as alert fields directly.

Field	Source
`Computer`	`project`
`EventID`	`project`
`MemberName`	`project`
`MemberSid`	`project`
`SimpleMemberName`	`project`
`SubjectAccount`	`project`
`SubjectDomainName`	`project`
`SubjectUserName`	`project`
`SubjectUserSid`	`project`
`TargetAccount`	`project`
`TargetDomainName`	`project`
`TargetSid`	`project`
`TargetUserName`	`project`
`TimeGenerated`	`project`
`UserPrincipalName`	`project`
`AddedByAccount`	`extend`
`AddedByAccountDomainName`	`extend`
`AddedByAccountName`	`extend`
`AddedByAccountSid`	`extend`
`AddedMemberName`	`extend`
`AddedMemberSid`	`extend`
`GroupAddedMemberTo`	`extend`
`HostName`	`extend`
`HostNameDomain`	`extend`

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`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)

User account added to built in domain local or global group

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Let binding: `WellKnownGroupSID`

union `isfuzzy=true` (2 sources)

Leg 1: `SecurityEvent`

Leg 2: `WindowsEvent`

Applied to the combined result

Exclusions

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

User account added to built in domain local or global group

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Event coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Parameters

Let binding: WellKnownGroupSID

union isfuzzy=true (2 sources)

Leg 1: SecurityEvent

Leg 2: WindowsEvent

Applied to the combined result

Exclusions

Indicators

Output fields

Let binding: `WellKnownGroupSID`

union `isfuzzy=true` (2 sources)

Leg 1: `SecurityEvent`

Leg 2: `WindowsEvent`