Potential Account Takeover - Mixed Logon Types

[metadata]
creation_date = "2026/02/25"
integration = ["system", "windows"]
maturity = "production"
updated_date = "2026/03/23"

[rule]
author = ["Elastic"]
description = """
Identifies a user account (often a service account) that normally logs in with high volume using one logon type
suddenly showing successful logons using a different logon type with low count. This pattern may indicate account
takeover or use of stolen credentials from a new context (e.g. interactive or network logon where only batch/service
was expected).
"""
from = "now-15m"
interval = "14m"
language = "esql"
license = "Elastic License v2"
name = "Potential Account Takeover - Mixed Logon Types"
note = """## Triage and analysis

### Investigating Potential Account Takeover - Mixed Logon Types

A high-volume account (e.g. service account tied to a specific logon type such as Batch or Network) that also shows successful logons with a different logon type and low count may indicate credential compromise and use from a new context (account takeover or misuse).

### Possible investigation steps

- Confirm with the account owner or service owner whether the additional logon type is expected (e.g. new automation, RDP for maintenance).
- Review which logon types appear in Esql.logon_type_values and which has the low count (likely the anomalous one).
- Correlate with other alerts for the same user (e.g. logon from new source IP, password changes, MFA changes).
- Check whether the account is a known service account; if so, verify if any new scripts or systems were authorized to use it.

### False positive analysis

- Legitimate expansion of use (e.g. service account also used for occasional interactive logon for troubleshooting) can trigger this. Tune thresholds (e.g. max_logon >= 1000, min_logon <= 10) or add exclusions for known service accounts with documented multi-context use.
- New scheduled tasks or automation that use a different logon type may cause a short-lived spike in the "other" logon type; review over a longer window if needed.

### Response and remediation

- If takeover or misuse is confirmed: force password reset, revoke sessions, rotate service account credentials, and restrict logon type or source where possible.
- Investigate how credentials may have been compromised and address the vector.
"""
references = ["https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/"]
risk_score = 47
rule_id = "b2c3d4e5-f6a7-5b6c-9d0e-1f2a3b4c5d6e"
severity = "medium"
tags = [
    "Domain: Endpoint",
    "OS: Windows",
    "Use Case: Threat Detection",
    "Tactic: Privilege Escalation",
    "Data Source: Windows Security Event Logs",
    "Resources: Investigation Guide",
]
timestamp_override = "event.ingested"
type = "esql"

query = '''
from logs-system.security*, logs-windows.forwarded*, winlogbeat-* metadata _id, _version, _index
| WHERE event.category == "authentication" and event.action == "logged-in" and winlog.event_id == "4624" and
        event.outcome == "success" and not user.id in ("S-1-5-18", "S-1-5-19", "S-1-5-20") and
        to_lower(user.name) != "administrator"
| STATS logon_count = COUNT(*), host_names = VALUES(host.name) by user.name, user.id, winlog.logon.type
| STATS
    Esql.max_logon = MAX(logon_count),
    Esql.min_logon = MIN(logon_count),
    Esql.unique_host_count = COUNT_DISTINCT(host_names),
    Esql.host_name_values = VALUES(host_names),
    Esql.logon_type_values = VALUES(winlog.logon.type),
    Esql.count_distinct_logon_types = COUNT_DISTINCT(winlog.logon.type) by user.name, user.id

// high count of logons is often associated with service account tied to a specific service, if observed in use with a different logon type it's suspicious
| WHERE Esql.count_distinct_logon_types >= 2 and Esql.max_logon >= 1000 and (Esql.min_logon >= 1 and Esql.min_logon <= 10) and Esql.unique_host_count >= 2
| EVAL winlog.logon.type = MV_FIRST(Esql.logon_type_values), host.name = MV_FIRST(Esql.host_name_values)
| KEEP user.name, user.id, host.name, winlog.logon.type, Esql.*
'''

[[rule.threat]]
framework = "MITRE ATT&CK"
[[rule.threat.technique]]
id = "T1078"
name = "Valid Accounts"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1078/"


[rule.threat.tactic]
id = "TA0004"
name = "Privilege Escalation"
reference = "https://attack.mitre.org/tactics/TA0004/"