auditpol.exe

  • File Path: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\auditpol.exe
  • Description: Audit Policy Program

Hashes

Type Hash
MD5 F69564DE88DDE5408EB37687D8CC7DAC
SHA1 2E4C06A8D3A26E7C04BBFDCBD3807A2773EB2BD4
SHA256 B01B1FAD43094C5B336F8ED8818013DB66D2A71141EE5C3602B951A7BF78B989
SHA384 53F57B767B7126A4B2A4D589A9C84E5BFE1B8F20F4F83A8DA52498B9909CB838AA2A1E5C27C6ACB6601B95BD3A005E25
SHA512 4A3722189957779DA2EDCDAC79616BC957B0811A42DF36850F94D8DFC8642BB1485448981161ABEB03599EF6418C1BB5C08B95E87FCE9E4E8C4A9BF14E42E9C9
SSDEEP 768:WHvXkRIp0iHKMyUeNt2LCPqeZv2NUX7el:A0vayNNt2SZv2NUX7y
IMP A69EC672A5B73C1F227F39DC959E6FA4
PESHA1 CB2BCE3D7B02483D638AA3DDA5BB550BCF23AB1A
PE256 646FA5E4AA5E7C690994D17FD4090012443CB55664DB8AE8D9DA57851064E756

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\ntdll.dll
C:\Windows\System32\wow64.dll
C:\Windows\System32\wow64cpu.dll
C:\Windows\System32\wow64win.dll
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\auditpol.exe

Signature

  • Status: Signature verified.
  • Serial: 33000001C422B2F79B793DACB20000000001C4
  • Thumbprint: AE9C1AE54763822EEC42474983D8B635116C8452
  • 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
  • Product Name: Microsoft Windows Operating System
  • Company Name: Microsoft Corporation
  • File Version: 10.0.17763.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800)
  • Product Version: 10.0.17763.1
  • Language: English (United States)
  • Legal Copyright: Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
  • Machine Type: 32-bit

File Scan

  • VirusTotal Detections: 0/68
  • VirusTotal Link: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/b01b1fad43094c5b336f8ed8818013db66d2a71141ee5c3602b951a7bf78b989/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.