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Get ADUserResultantPasswordPolicy with Powershell Script Block

Author
Teoderick Contreras, Mauricio Velazco, Splunk
Source
upstream

The following analytic detects the execution of the Get-ADUserResultantPasswordPolicy PowerShell cmdlet, which is used to obtain the password policy in a Windows domain. It leverages PowerShell Script Block Logging (EventCode=4104) to identify this activity. Monitoring this behavior is significant as it may indicate an attempt to enumerate domain policies, a common tactic used by adversaries for situational awareness and Active Directory discovery. If confirmed malicious, this activity could allow attackers to understand password policies, aiding in further attacks such as password guessing or policy exploitation.

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

TacticTechniques
DiscoveryT1201 Password Policy Discovery

Event coverage

ProviderEvent IDTitle
PowerShell4104Creating Scriptblock text (MessageNumber of MessageTotal).

Stages and Predicates

Stage 1: search

search EventCode=4104 ScriptBlockText="*Get-ADUserResultantPasswordPolicy*"

Stage 2: fillnull

fillnull

Stage 3: stats

stats BY dest, signature, signature_id, user_id, vendor_product, EventID, Guid, Opcode, Name, Path, ProcessID, ScriptBlockId, ScriptBlockText

Stage 4: search

search

Stage 5: search

search

Stage 6: search

search `macro`

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.

FieldKindValues
EventCodeeq
  • 4104 corpus 108 (splunk 108)
ScriptBlockTexteq
  • "*Get-ADUserResultantPasswordPolicy*"

Neighbors

Broader alternatives (more inclusive than this rule)

These rules match a superset of what this rule catches. They cover the same events plus more. Use them if you want wider coverage and can absorb more false positives.