splunk_escuHunting

Windows System User Privilege Discovery

The following analytic detects the execution of `whoami.exe` with the `/priv` parameter, which displays the privileges assigned to the current user account. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process names and command-line executions. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to enumerate user privileges, a common step in the reconnaissance phase of an attack. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to privilege escalation or further exploitation within the environment.

MITRE ATT&CK

T1033

Detection Query

| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes
  WHERE Processes.process_name="whoami.exe" Processes.process= "*/priv*"
  BY Processes.action Processes.dest Processes.original_file_name
     Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.parent_process_guid
     Processes.parent_process_id Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process_path
     Processes.process Processes.process_exec Processes.process_guid
     Processes.process_hash Processes.process_id Processes.process_integrity_level
     Processes.process_name Processes.process_path Processes.user
     Processes.user_id Processes.vendor_product
| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
| `windows_system_user_privilege_discovery_filter`

Author

Teoderick Contreras, Splunk

Created

2026-02-25

Data Sources

Sysmon EventID 1Windows Event Log Security 4688CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2

References

Tags

CISA AA23-347A

Raw Content

name: Windows System User Privilege Discovery
id: 8c9a06bc-9939-4425-9bb9-be2371f7fb7e
version: 7
date: '2026-02-25'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Splunk
status: production
type: Hunting
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 1
    - Windows Event Log Security 4688
    - CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2
description: The following analytic detects the execution of `whoami.exe` with the `/priv` parameter, which displays the privileges assigned to the current user account. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process names and command-line executions. This activity is significant as it may indicate an adversary attempting to enumerate user privileges, a common step in the reconnaissance phase of an attack. If confirmed malicious, this could lead to privilege escalation or further exploitation within the environment.
search: |-
    | tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes
      WHERE Processes.process_name="whoami.exe" Processes.process= "*/priv*"
      BY Processes.action Processes.dest Processes.original_file_name
         Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.parent_process_guid
         Processes.parent_process_id Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process_path
         Processes.process Processes.process_exec Processes.process_guid
         Processes.process_hash Processes.process_id Processes.process_integrity_level
         Processes.process_name Processes.process_path Processes.user
         Processes.user_id Processes.vendor_product
    | `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
    | `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
    | `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
    | `windows_system_user_privilege_discovery_filter`
how_to_implement: The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the `Processes` node of the `Endpoint` data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.
known_false_positives: Administrators or power users may use this command for troubleshooting. Filter as needed.
references:
    - https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1033/
    - https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa23-347a
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - CISA AA23-347A
    asset_type: Endpoint
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1033
    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/T1033/whoami_priv/whoami-priv-sysmon.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog