auditpol.exe

  • File Path: C:\Windows\system32\auditpol.exe
  • Description: Audit Policy Program

Hashes

Type Hash
MD5 3F7C7B2CE3E905ED4868DEBB640A5234
SHA1 9D0F2C4224F780847E0D1AC6C21C11A0CDCE7EEF
SHA256 91278DA04F3A40DA84CD151D3E69A4F39EEF82BD7F7F3A238DD5E3C224CAA33A
SHA384 36460CFBDB2ECCF1691C54A95DAD1222F028FB901C7FE55E39815275E3DDBA12BD3DF23468AC10AFAC51886FE5D446A2
SHA512 8755396F0E01859C938D5D6E2B0155F0A86E52BE1B14742DA97C71B1A0C002FCCABD3C3628BC55E96E07E9B1320FE3465E7115F3B1295456B831C012954DD0E6
SSDEEP 768:k/5zR9nJTTUb0HRh03+pIh7zokpKLBSlLv0U0pv5ar:8RkQzy7zzpKLUlLcU0pv5ar

Runtime Data

Usage (stdout):

Usage: AuditPol command [<sub-command><options>]


Commands (only one command permitted per execution)
  /?               Help (context-sensitive)
  /get             Displays the current audit policy.
  /set             Sets the audit policy.
  /list            Displays selectable policy elements.
  /backup          Saves the audit policy to a file.
  /restore         Restores the audit policy from a file.
  /clear           Clears the audit policy.
  /remove          Removes the per-user audit policy for a user account.
  /resourceSACL    Configure global resource SACLs


Use AuditPol <command> /? for details on each command

Usage (stderr):

Error 0x00000057 occurred:
The parameter is incorrect.


Signature

  • Status: Signature verified.
  • Serial: 33000000BCE120FDD27CC8EE930000000000BC
  • Thumbprint: E85459B23C232DB3CB94C7A56D47678F58E8E51E
  • Issuer: CN=Microsoft Windows Production PCA 2011, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US
  • Subject: CN=Microsoft Windows, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US

File Metadata

  • Original Filename: AUDITPOL.EXE.MUI
  • Product Name: Microsoft Windows Operating System
  • Company Name: Microsoft Corporation
  • File Version: 10.0.14393.0 (rs1_release.160715-1616)
  • Product Version: 10.0.14393.0
  • Language: English (United States)
  • Legal Copyright: Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Possible Misuse

The following table contains possible examples of auditpol.exe being misused. While auditpol.exe is not inherently malicious, its legitimate functionality can be abused for malicious purposes.

Source Source File Example License
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_nt_resource_kit_auditpol_usage.yml title: Suspicious NT Resource Kit Auditpol Usage DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_nt_resource_kit_auditpol_usage.yml description: Threat actors can use an older version of the auditpol binary available inside the NT resource kit to change audit policy configuration to impair detection capability. This can be carried out by selectively disabling/removing certain audit policies as well as restoring a custom policy owned by the threat actor. DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_susp_nt_resource_kit_auditpol_usage.yml - https://github.com/3CORESec/MAL-CL/tree/master/Descriptors/Windows%202000%20Resource%20Kit%20Tools/AuditPol DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_sus_auditpol_usage.yml title: Suspicious Auditpol Usage DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_sus_auditpol_usage.yml description: Threat actors can use auditpol binary to change audit policy configuration to impair detection capability. This can be carried out by selectively disabling/removing certain audit policies as well as restoring a custom policy owned by the threat actor. DRL 1.0
sigma proc_creation_win_sus_auditpol_usage.yml Image\|endswith: '\auditpol.exe' DRL 1.0
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md Use the cleanup commands to restore some default auditpol settings (your original settings will be lost) MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md auditpol /set /category:”Account Logon” /success:disable /failure:disable MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md auditpol /set /category:”Logon/Logoff” /success:disable /failure:disable MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md auditpol /set /category:”Detailed Tracking” /success:disable MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md auditpol /set /category:”Account Logon” /success:enable /failure:enable MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md auditpol /set /category:”Detailed Tracking” /success:enable MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md auditpol /set /category:”Logon/Logoff” /success:enable /failure:enable MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md Clear the Windows audit policy using auditpol utility. This action would stop certain audit events from being recorded in the security log. MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md auditpol /clear /y MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary
atomic-red-team T1562.002.md auditpol /remove /allusers MIT License. © 2018 Red Canary

Additional Info*

*The information below is copied from MicrosoftDocs, which is maintained by Microsoft. Available under CC BY 4.0 license.


auditpol

Displays information about and performs functions to manipulate audit policies, including:

  • Setting and querying a system audit policy.

  • Setting and querying a per-user audit policy.

  • Setting and querying auditing options.

  • Setting and querying the security descriptor used to delegate access to an audit policy.

  • Reporting or backing up an audit policy to a comma-separated value (CSV) text file.

  • Loading an audit policy from a CSV text file.

  • Configuring global resource SACLs.

Syntax

auditpol command [<sub-command><options>]

Parameters

Sub-command Description
/get Displays the current audit policy. For more information, see auditpol get for syntax and options.
/set Sets the audit policy. For more information, see auditpol set for syntax and options.
/list Displays selectable policy elements. For more information, see auditpol list for syntax and options.
/backup Saves the audit policy to a file. For more information, see auditpol backup for syntax and options.
/restore Restores the audit policy from a file that was previously created by using auditpol /backup. For more information, see auditpol restore for syntax and options.
/clear Clears the audit policy. For more information, see auditpol clear for syntax and options.
/remove Removes all per-user audit policy settings and disables all system audit policy settings. For more information, see auditpol remove for syntax and options.
/resourceSACL Configures global resource system access control lists (SACLs). Note: Applies only to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. For more information, see auditpol resourceSACL.
/? Displays help at the command prompt.

Additional References


MIT License. Copyright (c) 2020-2021 Strontic.