Windows Event ID 4663 — An attempt was made to access an object — SecOps Tools

Why event 4663 matters

Sensitive file access: NTDS.dit, SAM file, shadow copies, SSH keys, web.config, credential stores. DLP use case — access to confidential files. Requires targeted SACLs.

How to detect it

Configure SACLs on sensitive files. Alert: access to NTDS.dit, SAM, shadow copies, backup files. Very high volume when broadly enabled — use targeted SACLs only.

Log source

Security

Advanced Audit Policy — enable the 'Object Access' subcategory (Success and/or Failure).

Fields to pivot on

SubjectUserNameObjectNameObjectTypeAccessMaskProcessName

MITRE ATT&CK mapping

Tactic	Technique
Credential Access	OS Credential Dumping: NTDS (T1003.003)

Detection queries

Starting points — adapt the log source, projected fields and thresholds for your environment.

Sentinel / Defender KQL

SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4663   // An attempt was made to access an object
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, SubjectUserName, ObjectName, ObjectType, AccessMask, ProcessName
| sort by TimeGenerated desc

Splunk SPL

index=* sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4663
| stats count earliest(_time) as first_seen latest(_time) as last_seen by ComputerName
| sort - count   `# An attempt was made to access an object — add EventData fields: SubjectUserName, ObjectName, ObjectType, AccessMask`

Hunt event 4663 in Sentinel/Defender →

Build a KQL query for this event in the KQL Query Builder.

Search all event IDs →

Open the interactive Windows Event ID lookup.

Related Object Access events

4656 A handle to an object was requested 4657 A registry value was modified 4658 The handle to an object was closed 4660 An object was deleted 4665 An attempt was made to create an application client context 4670 Permissions on an object were changed 4690 An attempt was made to duplicate a handle to an object 4985 The state of a transaction has changed 5140 A network share object was accessed 5142 A network share object was added 5143 A network share object was modified 5144 A network share object was deleted

Frequently asked questions

What is Windows Event ID 4663?

An attempt was made to access an object. Access attempted on auditable object (file, folder, registry). ObjectName, AccessList, SubjectUserName are key. Only fires when SACL is set.

Which log records event 4663?

Event 4663 is written to the Security channel by Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing. Advanced Audit Policy — enable the 'Object Access' subcategory (Success and/or Failure).

What MITRE ATT&CK techniques map to event 4663?

Event 4663 is associated with: OS Credential Dumping: NTDS (T1003.003).

How do you detect activity around event 4663?

Configure SACLs on sensitive files. Alert: access to NTDS.dit, SAM, shadow copies, backup files. Very high volume when broadly enabled — use targeted SACLs only.