Suspicious Local Account Creation via Net Command
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-07-26
- Updated
- 2026-08-28
ATT&CK techniques
PersistenceRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule detects local user account creation through the net utility, a living-off-the-land technique used to establish persistence, including accounts masquerading as WDAGUtilityAccount or ASP.NET service identities. Attackers add accounts to retain access after initial compromise. Unexpected account creation on endpoints is a common persistence and privilege staging step.
Reporting behind it
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
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Also included
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