> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://cortex-docs.paloaltonetworks.com/analytics-alerts/alerts-by-name/discovery-of-accounts-with-pre-authentication-disabled-via-ldap.md).

# Discovery of accounts with pre-authentication disabled via LDAP

### Synopsis

| Field                | Value                                                                                   |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Activation Period    | 14 Days                                                                                 |
| Training Period      | 30 Days                                                                                 |
| Test Period          | N/A (single event)                                                                      |
| Deduplication Period | 1 Day                                                                                   |
| Required Data        | XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)                                            |
| Detection Modules    | Identity Analytics                                                                      |
| Detector Tags        | LDAP Analytics (Server), LDAP Analytics (Client)                                        |
| ATT\&CK Tactic       | Discovery (TA0007), Credential Access (TA0006)                                          |
| ATT\&CK Technique    | Account Discovery (T1087), Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets: AS-REP Roasting (T1558.004) |
| Severity             | Low                                                                                     |

### Description

A possible discovery of accounts without pre-authentication required via LDAP was performed. Such enumeration may be used during attacks against the organization.

### Attacker's Goals

An attacker is attempting to enumerate Active Directory.

### Investigative actions

* Check if the process executes LDAP search queries as part of its normal behavior.
* Investigate the LDAP search query for any suspicious indicators.
* Correlate logs from the same host or user for related LDAP queries or other unusual activities.
* Audit accounts flagged as not requiring pre-authentication and verify compliance with security policies.
* Determine whether the search query is generic. Wide search queries (often using wildcards) tend to be more suspicious. In our case, we are looking for targeted search queries.

### Variations

<details>

<summary>Suspicious discovery of accounts without pre-authentication required via LDAP</summary>

**Synopsis**

| Field             | Value                                                                                   |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| ATT\&CK Tactic    | Discovery (TA0007), Credential Access (TA0006)                                          |
| ATT\&CK Technique | Account Discovery (T1087), Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets: AS-REP Roasting (T1558.004) |
| Severity          | Medium                                                                                  |

**Description**

A possible discovery of accounts without pre-authentication required via LDAP was performed. Such enumeration may be used during attacks against the organization.

**Attacker's Goals**

An attacker is attempting to enumerate Active Directory.

**Investigative actions**

* Check if the process executes LDAP search queries as part of its normal behavior.
* Investigate the LDAP search query for any suspicious indicators.
* Correlate logs from the same host or user for related LDAP queries or other unusual activities.
* Audit accounts flagged as not requiring pre-authentication and verify compliance with security policies.
* Determine whether the search query is generic. Wide search queries (often using wildcards) tend to be more suspicious. In our case, we are looking for targeted search queries.

</details>


---

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