auditpol.exe

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

Hashes

Type Hash
MD5 7EE7814E283C40FCEF7AF892E1DA28ED
SHA1 E494FDFCBE1AB2B19EF1E2C873E0F1253F8466E9
SHA256 A60D60A9B0427E962284683FA4091D0DC34C508FE74EF3D28C2DB9BC5FF044BD
SHA384 83887ABD599B39DF5643831C7DE1625DB3CCCF2EFCFE301F1E0AA82D82D482074B7E6BFF48C29FD4094C9314609F1795
SHA512 C884AFA7E0C74712CD82B5FDD51F227C34F6388D791C610BD4077243598AB16499184BC982570D4A8DDBDCB9ABCB98EB19C293DC7D9E26601765542B1AFD9242
SSDEEP 768:1qmOT95r7hEL2LnFawtFl0qBG/rQO3YiOJRqapZ3ZlDEqZa+nMu6z:11OO2/+LrQO3YiOJRqapZ3ZlDEqZUz
IMP FA2CFAB845A1096FB0F05EE99677BDD0
PESHA1 9417409FD211E84D087F8ACD99BA9742E69BC0AF
PE256 4A137DB64B1FC2D91D5137F3F4C074D5C5F3BE3A2D2F53A05197D41FA7724A21

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.

Loaded Modules:

Path
C:\WINDOWS\system32\auditpol.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\KERNEL32.DLL
C:\WINDOWS\System32\KERNELBASE.dll
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll

Signature

  • Status: Signature verified.
  • Serial: 33000002ED2C45E4C145CF48440000000002ED
  • Thumbprint: 312860D2047EB81F8F58C29FF19ECDB4C634CF6A
  • 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: 10.0.22000.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)
  • Product Version: 10.0.22000.1
  • Language: English (United States)
  • Legal Copyright: Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
  • Machine Type: 64-bit

File Scan

  • VirusTotal Detections: 0/73
  • VirusTotal Link: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/a60d60a9b0427e962284683fa4091d0dc34c508fe74ef3d28c2db9bc5ff044bd/detection

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.