Sigma rule: Windows Event Auditing Disabled

A detection rule from the SigmaHQ repository, shown as its author published it. Dataset version ref-d64be69efca2, updated 2023-11-15T00:00:00.000Z.

Rule

Title
Windows Event Auditing Disabled
Status
test
Level
low
Author
@neu5ron, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems)
Date
2017-11-19
Modified
2023-11-15
File
rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_disable_event_auditing.yml
Commit
ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84

Detects scenarios where system auditing (i.e.: Windows event log auditing) is disabled.
This may be used in a scenario where an entity would want to bypass local logging to evade detection when Windows event logging is enabled and reviewed.
Also, it is recommended to turn off "Local Group Policy Object Processing" via GPO, which will make sure that Active Directory GPOs take precedence over local/edited computer policies via something such as "gpedit.msc".
Please note, that disabling "Local Group Policy Object Processing" may cause an issue in scenarios of one off specific GPO modifications - however, it is recommended to perform these modifications in Active Directory anyways.

Log source

product
windows
service
security
definition
dfd8c0f4-e6ad-4e07-b91b-f2fca0ddef64

Detection

selection:
    EventID: 4719
    AuditPolicyChanges|contains:
        - '%%8448' # This is "Success removed"
        - '%%8450' # This is "Failure removed"
filter_main_guid:
    # Note: We filter these GUID to avoid alert duplication as these are covered by ab4561b1-6c7e-48a7-ad08-087cfb9ce8f1
    SubcategoryGuid:
        - '{0CCE9210-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Security State Change
        - '{0CCE9211-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Security System Extension
        - '{0CCE9212-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit System Integrity
        - '{0CCE9215-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Logon
        - '{0CCE9217-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Account Lockout
        - '{0CCE921B-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Special Logon
        - '{0CCE922B-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Process Creation
        - '{0CCE922F-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Audit Policy Change
        - '{0CCE9230-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Authentication Policy Change
        - '{0CCE9235-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit User Account Management
        - '{0CCE9236-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Computer Account Management
        - '{0CCE9237-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Security Group Management
        - '{0CCE923F-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Credential Validation
        - '{0CCE9240-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Kerberos Service Ticket Operations
        - '{0CCE9242-69AE-11D9-BED3-505054503030}' # Audit Kerberos Authentication Service'
condition: selection and not 1 of filter_main_*

False positives (as the rule lists them)

  • Unknown

Tags

  • attack.defense-impairment
  • attack.t1685.001

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_disable_event_auditing.yml

Sources and licences

  • SigmaHQ

    "Windows Event Auditing Disabled" by @neu5ron, Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_disable_event_auditing.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: Windows Event Auditing Disabled",
entity page, dataset version ref-d64be69efca2, updated 2023-11-15T00:00:00.000Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/detections/sigma/69aeb277-f15f-4d2d-b32a-55e883609563 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 69aeb277-f15f-4d2d-b32a-55e883609563, 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.