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Windows Security 4624 LogonType 9 Impersonation via Negotiate (Advapi) Token Abuse Indicator

Identifies Windows successful logons consistent with potential access token impersonation using Advapi and Negotiate.

FreeReviewedSigma · Medium · v2
Product
windows
Service
security
Author
Michaela Adams, Zach Mathis (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2022-11-06
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Priv Esc → Defense Evasion

  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 flags Windows Security Event ID 4624 logons with LogonType 9 where the logon process is Advapi and the authentication package is Negotiate, indicating an impersonation-related authentication context. Attackers can abuse access tokens to impersonate other users and conduct stealthy activity under different credentials. The detection relies on Windows Security auditing telemetry for EventID, LogonType, LogonProcessName, AuthenticationPackageName, and ImpersonationLevel values.

Reporting behind it

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Malicious Named Pipe kesknq for Token Impersonation (via pipe_created)
SharpDPAPI Tool Execution via Command-Line and PE Metadata on Windows
Windows Security: Detect NoFilter Tool Activity via RonPolicy Filtering Policy Indicators
SharpImpersonation Tool Execution on Windows
Windows Process Creation: Impersonate.exe HackTool Execution
Windows: Detect Named Pipe Creation with Koh Default Names
Windows getsystem via Meterpreter/Cobalt Strike when services.exe starts a likely privilege escalation command
Windows Security 4624 LogonType 9 Impersonation via Negotiate (Advapi) Token Abuse Indicator
Pivot detection · T1134.001 · 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.