SPNs cleared from a machine account

Synopsis

Field	Value
Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Day
Required Data	Requires one of the following data sources: Windows Event Collector OR XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)
Detection Modules	Identity Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Privilege Escalation (TA0004), Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Account Manipulation (T1098), Valid Accounts (T1078)
Severity	Low

Description

Service principal names were cleared from a machine account.

Attacker's Goals

Elevate privileges from standard domain user to domain admin.

Investigative actions

• Follow actions performed by the user.
• Look for associated sAMAccountName rename events.

Variations

SPNs cleared from a machine account for the first time

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Privilege Escalation (TA0004), Persistence (TA0003)
ATT&CK Technique	Account Manipulation (T1098), Valid Accounts (T1078)
Severity	Medium

Description

Service principal names were cleared from a machine account.

Attacker's Goals

Elevate privileges from standard domain user to domain admin.

Investigative actions

• Follow actions performed by the user.
• Look for associated sAMAccountName rename events.