Windows Process Command-Line Flags Indicating Auditpol Policy Tampering

ATT&CK techniques

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule flags process executions where the command line includes specific auditpol-style flags that can be used to target audit policy configuration. An attacker could use an older auditpol utility from a resource kit to disable or remove selected audit policies or restore a custom policy, impairing detection fidelity. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry and matching the presence of the defined /<area>:none command-line parameters.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1685.001 — drag to rearrange

Malicious Security Event Log Disabled via wevtutil

Malicious SQL Server Auditing Deactivated (via application)

Malicious Event Log Deactivation or Size Reduction - Command (via process_creation)

Malicious Audit Policy Disabled by Command Line (via process_creation)

Suspicious IIS Logging Disabled via appcmd

Malicious SQL Server Database Auditing Deactivated (via application)

Malicious Audit Policy Disabled by Command Line (via security)

Malicious Event Log Tampering via wevtutil Channel Disable by FunkSec Ransomware (via process_creation)

OCSP Responder Auditing Settings Changed or Disabled (via security)

Windows Process Command-Line Flags Indicating Auditpol Policy Tampering

Pivot detection · T1685.001 · 9 related

Changelog

v2

v2
Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
v1
No changelog recorded for this version.2026-07-30

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

windows-audit-policy-tampering-using-auditpol-from-nt-resource-kit-c6c56ada

title: Windows Process Command-Line Flags Indicating Auditpol Policy Tampering
id: 27b7e1a9-056e-4b7d-a65c-54810d8fe569
related:
  - id: 0a13e132-651d-11eb-ae93-0242ac130002
    type: similar
  - id: c6c56ada-612b-42d1-9a29-adad3c5c2c1e
    type: derived
status: test
description: This rule flags process executions where the command line includes specific auditpol-style flags that can be used to target audit policy configuration. An attacker could use an older auditpol utility from a resource kit to disable or remove selected audit policies or restore a custom policy, impairing detection fidelity. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry and matching the presence of the defined /<area>:none command-line parameters.
references:
  - https://github.com/3CORESec/MAL-CL/tree/master/Descriptors/Windows%202000%20Resource%20Kit%20Tools/AuditPol
  - https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_auditpol_nt_resource_kit_usage.yml
author: Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), Huntrule Team
date: 2021-12-18
modified: 2023-02-21
tags:
  - attack.defense-impairment
  - attack.t1685.001
logsource:
  category: process_creation
  product: windows
detection:
  selection:
    CommandLine|contains:
      - /logon:none
      - /system:none
      - /sam:none
      - /privilege:none
      - /object:none
      - /process:none
      - /policy:none
  condition: selection
falsepositives:
  - The old auditpol utility isn't available by default on recent versions of Windows as it was replaced by a newer version. The FP rate should be very low except for tools that use a similar flag structure
level: high
license: DRL-1.1

Convert

This rule as a query you can run. Uses no unlock credit.

SplunkSPL