Sigma rule: Password Change on Directory Service Restore Mode (DSRM) Account

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-7aaf38defe08, updated 2020-08-23T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Password Change on Directory Service Restore Mode (DSRM) Account
Status
stable
Level
high
Author
Thomas Patzke
Date
2017-02-19
Modified
2020-08-23
File
rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_susp_dsrm_password_change.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects potential attempts made to set the Directory Services Restore Mode administrator password.
The Directory Service Restore Mode (DSRM) account is a local administrator account on Domain Controllers.
Attackers may change the password in order to obtain persistence.

Log source

product
windows
service
security

Detection

selection:
    EventID: 4794
condition: selection

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Initial installation of a domain controller.

Tags

  • attack.privilege-escalation
  • attack.persistence
  • attack.t1098

MITRE ATT&CK ids this rule names

Related rules

References

Read on 2026-11-03T00:58:21.399Z under licence sigma-drl-1.1@d5f4c36a from https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_susp_dsrm_password_change.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Password Change on Directory Service Restore Mode (DSRM) Account" by Thomas Patzke (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_susp_dsrm_password_change.yml.
    Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-License

    Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "Sigma rule: Password Change on Directory Service Restore Mode (DSRM) Account",
entity page, dataset version ref-7aaf38defe08, updated 2020-08-23T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/53ad8e36-f573-46bf-97e4-15ba5bf4bb51 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 53ad8e36-f573-46bf-97e4-15ba5bf4bb51, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.

Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.