Windows Password Policy Discovery with Net

name: Windows Password Policy Discovery with Net
id: e52f7865-be78-46bf-b7ed-150fbe447613
version: 4
date: '2026-02-25'
author: Teoderick Contreras, Mauricio Velazco, Nasreddine Bencherchali, Splunk
status: production
type: Hunting
description: The following analytic identifies the execution of `net.exe` with command line arguments aimed at obtaining the computer or domain password policy. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on process names and command-line executions. This activity is significant as it indicates potential reconnaissance efforts by adversaries to gather information about Active Directory password policies. If confirmed malicious, this behavior could allow attackers to understand password complexity requirements, aiding in brute-force or password-guessing attacks, ultimately compromising user accounts and gaining unauthorized access to the network.
data_source:
    - Sysmon EventID 1
    - Windows Event Log Security 4688
    - CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2
search: |-
    | tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes
      WHERE `process_net`
        AND
        Processes.process = "*accounts*"
        AND
        NOT Processes.process IN ("*/FORCELOGOFF*", "*/MINPWLEN*", "*/MAXPWAGE*", "*/MINPWAGE*", "*/UNIQUEPW*")
      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_password_policy_discovery_with_net_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.
references:
    - https://github.com/S1ckB0y1337/Active-Directory-Exploitation-Cheat-Sheet
tags:
    analytic_story:
        - Active Directory Discovery
    asset_type: Endpoint
    mitre_attack_id:
        - T1201
    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/T1201/pwd_policy_discovery/windows-sysmon.log
          source: XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
          sourcetype: XmlWinEventLog