Windows AD GPO Deleted

name: Windows AD GPO Deleted
id: 0d41772b-35ab-4e1c-a2ba-d0b455481aee
version: 9
date: '2026-03-10'
author: Dean Luxton
status: production
type: TTP
data_source:
    - Windows Event Log Security 5136
description: This detection identifies when an Active Directory Group Policy is deleted using the Group Policy Management Console.
search: |-
    `wineventlog_security` EventCode=5136 AttributeLDAPDisplayName=gpLink
      | eval  ObjectDN=upper(ObjectDN)
      | stats min(_time) as eventTime values(eval(if(OperationType=="%%14675",AttributeValue,null))) as old_value values(eval(if(OperationType=="%%14674",AttributeValue,null))) as new_value values(OperationType) as OperationType values(src_user) as src_user values(dest) as dest
        BY OpCorrelationID ObjectDN SubjectLogonId
      | rex field=old_value max_match=10000 "(?i)LDAP://(?P<old_dn>cn.*?);(?P<old_flag>\d)\]"
      | rex field=new_value max_match=10000 "(?i)LDAP://(?P<new_dn>cn.*?);(?P<new_flag>\d)\]"
      | mvexpand old_dn
      | where NOT old_dn IN (new_dn)
      | eval ObjectDN=upper(old_dn)
      | join ObjectDN type=outer [
      | search `admon` objectCategory="CN=Group-Policy-Container*" admonEventType=Update
      | eval ObjectDN=upper(distinguishedName)
      | stats latest(displayName) as displayName
        BY ObjectDN ]
      | stats min(eventTime) as _time values(OpCorrelationID) as OpCorrelationID values(displayName) as policyName values(src_user) as src_user
        BY ObjectDN SubjectLogonId
      | `windows_ad_gpo_deleted_filter`
how_to_implement: Ensure you are ingesting Active Directory audit logs - specifically event 5136, admon data is also used to display the display name of the GPO. See lantern article in references for further on how to onboard AD audit data. Ensure the wineventlog_security and admon macros are configured with the correct indexes.
known_false_positives: No false positives have been identified at this time.
references:
    - https://lantern.splunk.com/Security/Product_Tips/Enterprise_Security/Enabling_an_audit_trail_from_Active_Directory
drilldown_searches:
    - name: View the detection results for - "$src_user$"
      search: '%original_detection_search% | search  src_user = "$src_user$"'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
    - name: View risk events for the last 7 days for - "$src_user$"
      search: '| from datamodel Risk.All_Risk | search normalized_risk_object IN ("$src_user$") starthoursago=168  | stats count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime values(search_name) as "Search Name" values(risk_message) as "Risk Message" values(analyticstories) as "Analytic Stories" values(annotations._all) as "Annotations" values(annotations.mitre_attack.mitre_tactic) as "ATT&CK Tactics" by normalized_risk_object | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`'
      earliest_offset: $info_min_time$
      latest_offset: $info_max_time$
rba:
    message: GPO $policyName$ was deleted by $src_user$
    risk_objects:
        - field: src_user
          type: user
          score: 50
    threat_objects: []
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - Sneaky Active Directory Persistence Tricks
    asset_type: Endpoint
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1562.001
        - T1484.001
    product:
        - Splunk Enterprise
        - Splunk Enterprise Security
        - Splunk Cloud
    security_domain: endpoint
tests:
    - name: True Positive Test
      attack_data:
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1484.001/group_policy_deleted/windows-security.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Security
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog
        - data: https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/splunk/attack_data/master/datasets/attack_techniques/T1484.001/group_policy_deleted/windows-admon.log
          source: ActiveDirectory
          sourcetype: ActiveDirectory