huntrule

Suspicious ADFind Active Directory Enumeration (via process_creation)

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-10-04
Updated
2026-10-04
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery

  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects execution of the ADFind utility with query flags used to enumerate Active Directory users, computers and trusts. DragonForce operators use ADFind for domain reconnaissance ahead of lateral movement and ransomware deployment, mapping high-value targets across the environment.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1087.002 — drag to rearrange
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Suspicious LDAP Query Enumerating Kerberos Preauth Disabled Accounts with Whitespace Evasion
Suspicious Delegation Discovery LDAP Search Filter via Bitwise OID
Suspicious PowerShell Execution of Untitled1 Script From ProgramData
Suspicious Notepad Access to Active Directory Enumeration Output Files
Suspicious Service Principal Name Discovery via setspn Query
Suspicious ADFind Active Directory Enumeration (via process_creation)
Pivot detection · T1087.002 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.