huntrule

Windows Security 4661 Detects Privileged AD User/Group SID Enumeration via SAM

Identifies SAM_USER/SAM_GROUP access events (4661) aimed at privileged SIDs or names containing 'admin' while ignoring computer accounts.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v2
Product
windows
Service
security
Author
Samir Bousseaden (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2019-04-03
Updated
2026-07-31
AnalysisDetection

ATT&CK techniques

Discovery

  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 events (EventID 4661) involving SAM_USER or SAM_GROUP objects whose names match common privileged account patterns (e.g., containing "admin" or ending with well-known privileged RID suffixes). Attackers often enumerate privileged users and groups to plan escalation and lateral movement, so monitoring these object access attempts helps surface early reconnaissance. It relies on Security log telemetry including ObjectType, ObjectName, EventID, and SubjectUserName for filtering out machine accounts.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1087.002 — drag to rearrange
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Suspicious AdFind Person Object Enumeration via LDAP Filter
Suspicious Active Directory Reconnaissance via In-Memory Offensive PowerShell (via ps_script)
Suspicious Active Directory Export via Csvde via Process Creation (via process_creation)
Suspicious AdFind Domain User Reconnaissance Output
Suspicious Active Directory Reconnaissance Output via ADRecon CSV (via file_event)
Suspicious Domain Computer Enumeration via Net Group Command
Suspicious Active Directory Enumeration via AdsiSearcher
Windows Security 4661 Detects Privileged AD User/Group SID Enumeration via SAM
Pivot detection · T1087.002 · 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.