Account Password Reset Remotely

Last updated 5 months ago on 2025-03-20
Created 4 years ago on 2021-10-18

About

Identifies an attempt to reset a potentially privileged account password remotely. Adversaries may manipulate account passwords to maintain access or evade password duration policies and preserve compromised credentials.
Tags
Domain: EndpointOS: WindowsUse Case: Threat DetectionTactic: PersistenceTactic: ImpactData Source: Windows Security Event LogsLanguage: eql
Severity
medium
Risk Score
47
MITRE ATT&CK™

Persistence (TA0003)(opens in a new tab or window)

Impact (TA0040)(opens in a new tab or window)

False Positive Examples
Legitimate remote account administration.
License
Elastic License v2(opens in a new tab or window)

Definition

Rule Type
Event Correlation Rule
Integration Pack
Prebuilt Security Detection Rules
Index Patterns
logs-system.security*logs-windows.forwarded*winlogbeat-*
Related Integrations

system(opens in a new tab or window)

windows(opens in a new tab or window)

Query
sequence by winlog.computer_name with maxspan=1m
  [authentication where event.action == "logged-in" and
    /* event 4624 need to be logged */
    winlog.logon.type : "Network" and event.outcome == "success" and source.ip != null and
    source.ip != "127.0.0.1" and source.ip != "::1" and
    not winlog.event_data.TargetUserName : ("svc*", "PIM_*", "_*_", "*-*-*", "*$")] by winlog.event_data.TargetLogonId
   /* event 4724 need to be logged */
  [iam where event.action == "reset-password" and
   (
    /*
       This rule is very noisy if not scoped to privileged accounts, duplicate the
       rule and add your own naming convention and accounts of interest here.
     */
    winlog.event_data.TargetUserName: ("*Admin*", "*super*", "*SVC*", "*DC0*", "*service*", "*DMZ*", "*ADM*") or
    winlog.event_data.TargetSid : ("S-1-5-21-*-500", "S-1-12-1-*-500")
    )
  ] by winlog.event_data.SubjectLogonId

Install detection rules in Elastic Security

Detect Account Password Reset Remotely in the Elastic Security detection engine by installing this rule into your Elastic Stack.

To setup this rule, check out the installation guide for Prebuilt Security Detection Rules(opens in a new tab or window).