Detection rules › Splunk
Windows Multiple Account Passwords Changed
The following analytic detects instances where more than five unique Windows account passwords are changed within a 10-minute interval. It leverages Event Code 4724 from the Windows Security Event Log, using the wineventlog_security dataset to monitor and count distinct TargetUserName values. This behavior is significant as rapid password changes across multiple accounts are unusual and may indicate unauthorized access or internal compromise. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to widespread account compromise, unauthorized access to sensitive information, and potential disruption of services.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Initial Access | T1078 Valid Accounts |
| Persistence | T1078 Valid Accounts, T1098 Account Manipulation |
| Privilege Escalation | T1078 Valid Accounts, T1098 Account Manipulation |
| Stealth | T1078 Valid Accounts |
Event coverage
| Provider | Event | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Security-Auditing | Event ID 4724 | An attempt was made to reset an account's password. |
Rule body splunk
name: Windows Multiple Account Passwords Changed
id: faefb681-14be-4f0d-9cac-0bc0160c7280
version: 11
creation_date: '2024-03-06'
modification_date: '2026-05-13'
author: Mauricio Velazco, Splunk
status: production
type: TTP
description: The following analytic detects instances where more than five unique Windows account passwords are changed within a 10-minute interval. It leverages Event Code 4724 from the Windows Security Event Log, using the wineventlog_security dataset to monitor and count distinct TargetUserName values. This behavior is significant as rapid password changes across multiple accounts are unusual and may indicate unauthorized access or internal compromise. If confirmed malicious, this activity could lead to widespread account compromise, unauthorized access to sensitive information, and potential disruption of services.
data_source:
- Windows Event Log Security 4724
search: |-
`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4724 status=success
| bucket span=10m _time
| stats count dc(user) as unique_users values(user) as user values(dest) as dest
BY EventCode signature _time
src_user SubjectDomainName TargetDomainName
Logon_ID
| where unique_users > 5
| `windows_multiple_account_passwords_changed_filter`
how_to_implement: To successfully implement this search, you need to be ingesting Domain Controller events with the Windows TA. The Advanced Security Audit policy setting `Audit User Account Management` within `Account Management` needs to be enabled.
known_false_positives: Service accounts may be responsible for the creation, deletion or modification of accounts for legitimate purposes. Filter as needed.
references:
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1098/
drilldown_searches:
- name: View the detection results for - "$src_user$"
search: '%original_detection_search% | search src_user = "$src_user$"'
earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
latest_offset: $info_max_time$
- name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$src_user$"
search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$src_user$") | 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"
finding:
title: User $src_user$ changed the passwords of multiple accounts in a short period of time.
entity:
field: src_user
type: user
score: 50
analytic_story:
- Azure Active Directory Persistence
asset_type: Endpoint
mitre_attack_id:
- T1098
- T1078
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/T1098/windows_multiple_passwords_changed/windows_multiple_passwords_changed.log
source: XmlWinEventLog:Security
sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
test_type: unit
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: search
`wineventlog_security` EventCode=4724 status=success
Stage 2: bucket
| bucket span=10m _time
Stage 3: stats
| stats count dc(user) as unique_users values(user) as user values(dest) as dest
BY EventCode signature _time
src_user SubjectDomainName TargetDomainName
Logon_ID
Stage 4: where
| where unique_users > 5
Stage 5: search
| `windows_multiple_account_passwords_changed_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 |
|---|---|---|
EventCode | eq |
|
status | eq |
|
unique_users | gt |
|