huntrule

Windows Security Log: Denied Remote Desktop Logon (Event ID 4825)

Flags Windows denied RDP connection attempts from users lacking permission to log on remotely (Event ID 4825).

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Service
security
Author
Pushkarev Dmitry (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-06-27
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Lateral Movement

  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 identifies cases where an authenticated user attempts a Remote Desktop connection to a computer and is denied because remote logon is not permitted. Attackers often use repeated RDP attempts to discover reachable Windows servers and potential lateral movement targets. It relies on Windows Security auditing event telemetry for Event ID 4825.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1021.001 — drag to rearrange
Suspicious Enabling of Remote Desktop via fDenyTSConnections Registry by DeadLock Ransomware
Suspicious Plink SSH Tunnel Execution (via process_creation)
Suspicious Remote Desktop Enabled via fDenyTSConnections Registry by Sandworm
Suspicious RDP Shadow Session Started - Native (via rdp)
Malicious RDP BlueeKeep Connection Closed - CVE-2019-0708 (via rdp)
Obfuscated RDP Tunneling Configuration Enabled for Port Forwarding (via process_creation)
Malicious RDP Shadow Session Configuration Enabled - Registry (via registry_event)
Malicious RDP Tunneling (via rdp)
Suspicious Denied RDP Login with Valid Credentials (via security)
Windows Security Log: Denied Remote Desktop Logon (Event ID 4825)
Pivot detection · T1021.001 · 9 related

Changelog

v2
  1. v2
    Candidate ingested via manual entry.2026-07-31
  2. 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.