Windows Security 4697: TAP Driver Service Installation (tap0901)
Alerts on Windows Security EID 4697 service installation events for TAP driver files containing "tap0901."
- Product
- windows
- Service
- security
- Author
- Daniil Yugoslavskiy, Ian Davis, oscd.community (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
- Published
- 2019-10-24
- Updated
- 2026-07-31
ATT&CK techniques
ExfiltrationRecon
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 Windows Security Event ID 4697 when a service is installed with a service file name containing "tap0901". Attackers may use TAP-style network drivers to establish tunneling infrastructure as part of data exfiltration or related staging activities. The detection relies on the Windows Security audit event that records new service installation details, specifically the EventID 4697 service file name field.
Reporting behind it
Changelog
v2- v2Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
- v1No 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.
title: "Windows Security 4697: TAP Driver Service Installation (tap0901)"
id: 6c876da6-2def-4731-bad5-1c461fb3c2b2
related:
- id: 8e4cf0e5-aa5d-4dc3-beff-dc26917744a9
type: derived
- id: 9c8afa4d-0022-48f0-9456-3712466f9701
type: derived
status: test
description: This rule flags Windows Security Event ID 4697 when a service is installed with a service file name containing "tap0901". Attackers may use TAP-style network drivers to establish tunneling infrastructure as part of data exfiltration or related staging activities. The detection relies on the Windows Security audit event that records new service installation details, specifically the EventID 4697 service file name field.
references:
- https://community.openvpn.net/openvpn/wiki/ManagingWindowsTAPDrivers
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_tap_driver_installation.yml
author: Daniil Yugoslavskiy, Ian Davis, oscd.community, Huntrule Team
date: 2019-10-24
modified: 2022-11-29
tags:
- attack.exfiltration
- attack.t1048
logsource:
product: windows
service: security
definition: "Requirements: The System Security Extension audit subcategory need to be enabled to log the EID 4697"
detection:
selection:
EventID: 4697
ServiceFileName|contains: tap0901
condition: selection
falsepositives:
- Legitimate OpenVPN TAP installation
level: low
license: DRL-1.1