Detect Domain Account in Elastic Security
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of domain accounts to aid in follow-on behavior such as targeting accounts with specific privileges. Commands such as net user /domain and net group /domain, PowerShell cmdlets like Get-ADUser and Get-ADGroupMember, LDAP queries via ldapsearch or BoomBox-style programmatic enumeration, and tools like AdFind and CrackMapExec are commonly used. This information helps adversaries identify high-value targets such as domain administrators, service accounts, and privileged users.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Discovery
- Technique
- T1087 Account Discovery
- Sub-technique
- T1087.002 Domain Account
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1087/002/
Elastic Detection Query
sequence by host.id with maxspan=5m
[process where event.type == "start" and (
(
process.name in~ ("net.exe", "net1.exe") and
process.args : ("/domain", "domain admins", "domain users", "domain controllers", "enterprise admins", "schema admins")
) or
(
process.name in~ ("powershell.exe", "pwsh.exe") and
process.command_line : ("*Get-ADUser*", "*Get-ADGroupMember*", "*Get-ADGroup*", "*Get-ADComputer*", "*Get-ADObject*", "*Get-ADDomain*", "*Get-ADForest*", "*Get-DomainUser*", "*Get-DomainGroupMember*", "*Get-DomainGroup*", "*Get-NetUser*", "*Get-NetGroup*")
) or
(
process.name in~ ("adfind.exe", "nltest.exe", "dsquery.exe", "ldifde.exe", "csvde.exe", "dsget.exe", "crackmapexec.exe", "cme.exe", "bloodhound.exe", "sharphound.exe") and
process.command_line : ("*user*", "*group*", "*objectclass*", "*samaccountname*", "*domain*", "*ldap*")
)
)] by process.entity_idDetects domain account enumeration via net.exe /domain commands, PowerShell Active Directory module cmdlets (Get-ADUser, Get-ADGroupMember, PowerView equivalents), and known AD reconnaissance tools such as AdFind, BloodHound, SharpHound, nltest, dsquery, and CrackMapExec. Sequences are correlated per host within a 5-minute window.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- IT administrators running legitimate AD audits or user management scripts using Get-ADUser or dsquery
- Automated provisioning systems or identity governance tools that enumerate domain groups and users as part of lifecycle management
- Security scanning tools or vulnerability management platforms (e.g., Tenable, Qualys) that perform AD enumeration as part of asset inventory
Other platforms for T1087.002
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 5 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Domain User Enumeration via net.exe
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with Image ending in net.exe or net1.exe (Windows internally invokes net1.exe), CommandLine containing 'user /domain'. Security Event ID 4688 (if process command line auditing is enabled) with same details. Parent process will be cmd.exe or the calling shell.
- Test 2Domain Admin Group Enumeration via net.exe
Expected signal: Three separate Sysmon Event ID 1 entries, each with Image=net.exe or net1.exe, CommandLine containing 'group' and '/domain'. The rapid succession of three similar commands within seconds on the same host is a strong indicator. Security Event ID 4688 for each invocation if command line auditing is enabled.
- Test 3PowerShell Active Directory Module User Enumeration
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with Image=powershell.exe, CommandLine containing 'Get-ADUser' and '-Filter *'. PowerShell ScriptBlock Logging Event ID 4104 with the full command including filter and properties. Active Directory replication/query traffic from the host to the domain controller on LDAP port 389.
- Test 4PowerView Domain User Enumeration
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with Image=powershell.exe, CommandLine containing 'Get-DomainUser', 'IEX', 'Net.WebClient', and 'DownloadString'. Sysmon Event ID 3: Network Connection to github.com or raw.githubusercontent.com. PowerShell ScriptBlock Logging Event ID 4104 with the IEX download cradle and Get-DomainUser call. Multiple LDAP queries to domain controllers captured in network traffic.
- Test 5nltest Domain Controller and Domain Trust Enumeration
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Three process creation events for nltest.exe with CommandLine containing '/dclist:', '/domain_trusts', and '/user:Administrator' respectively. Security Event ID 4688 if command line auditing is enabled. nltest.exe is not commonly run by standard users, making any execution noteworthy.
References (11)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1087/002/
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1087/
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/net-user
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/activedirectory/get-aduser
- https://github.com/PowerShellMafia/PowerSploit/tree/master/Recon
- https://github.com/BloodHoundAD/BloodHound
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1087.002/T1087.002.md
- https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/observations-from-the-stellarparticle-campaign/
- https://www.mandiant.com/resources/blog/fin13-a-cybercriminal-threat-actor-focused-on-mexico
- https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CISA_AA20-120A.pdf
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/tree/master/rules/windows/process_creation
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