Detection rules › Splunk
Enumerate Users Local Group Using Telegram
The following analytic detects a Telegram process enumerating all network users in a local group. It leverages EventCode 4798, which is generated when a process enumerates a user's security-enabled local groups on a computer or device. This activity is significant as it may indicate an attempt to gather information on user accounts, a common precursor to further malicious actions. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to map out user accounts, potentially leading to privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Discovery | T1087 Account Discovery |
Event coverage
| Provider | Event | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Security-Auditing | Event ID 4798 | A user's local group membership was enumerated. |
Rule body splunk
name: Enumerate Users Local Group Using Telegram
id: fcd74532-ae54-11eb-a5ab-acde48001122
version: 13
creation_date: '2021-05-07'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects a Telegram process enumerating all network users in a local group. It leverages EventCode 4798, which is generated when a process enumerates a user's security-enabled local groups on a computer or device. This activity is significant as it may indicate an attempt to gather information on user accounts, a common precursor to further malicious actions. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow an attacker to map out user accounts, potentially leading to privilege escalation or lateral movement within the network.
data_source:
- Windows Event Log Security 4798
search: '`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4798 CallerProcessName = "*\\telegram.exe" | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by user Computer EventCode CallerProcessName ProcessID SubjectUserSid SubjectDomainName SubjectLogonId | rename Computer as dest | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` | `enumerate_users_local_group_using_telegram_filter`'
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting logs with the Task Schedule (Exa. Security Log EventCode 4798) endpoints. Tune and filter known instances of process like logonUI used in your environment.
known_false_positives: No false positives have been identified at this time.
references:
- https://thedfirreport.com/2020/04/20/sqlserver-or-the-miner-in-the-basement/
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/auditing/event-4798
drilldown_searches:
- name: View the detection results for - "$user$" and "$dest$"
search: '%original_detection_search% | search user = "$user$" dest = "$dest$"'
earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
latest_offset: $info_max_time$
- name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$user$" and "$dest$"
search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$user$", "$dest$") | 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"
finding:
title: The Telegram application has been identified enumerating local groups on $dest$ by $user$.
entity:
field: user
type: user
score: 50
intermediate_findings:
entities:
- field: dest
type: system
score: 50
message: The Telegram application has been identified enumerating local groups on $dest$ by $user$.
analytic_story:
- XMRig
- Compromised Windows Host
- Water Gamayun
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
- T1087
product:
- Splunk Enterprise
- Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Cloud
category: endpoint
security_domain: endpoint
tests:
- name: True Positive Test
attack_data:
- data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1087/enumerate_users_local_group_using_telegram/windows-xml.log
source: XmlWinEventLog:Security
sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
test_type: unit
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4798 CallerProcessName = "*\\telegram.exe"
Stage 2: stats
| stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by user Computer EventCode CallerProcessName ProcessID SubjectUserSid SubjectDomainName SubjectLogonId
Stage 3: rename
| rename Computer as dest
Stage 4: search
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
Stage 5: search
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
Stage 6: search
| `enumerate_users_local_group_using_telegram_filter`
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 |
|---|---|---|
CallerProcessName | eq |
|
EventCode | eq |
|