4665 Security log · Object Access info severity low volume

Windows Event ID 4665 — An attempt was made to create an application client context

Application client context creation attempt. COM-related event.

Why event 4665 matters

COM-based lateral movement techniques may trigger this. Minimal standalone value.

How to detect it

No standalone alerting. Use for COM attack chain investigation.

Log source
Security
Advanced Audit Policy — enable the 'Object Access' subcategory (Success and/or Failure).
Fields to pivot on
SubjectUserNameTargetUserNameLogonTypeIpAddressWorkstationName

Detection queries

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

Sentinel / Defender KQL
SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4665   // An attempt was made to create an application client context
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, SubjectUserName, TargetUserName, LogonType, IpAddress, WorkstationName
| sort by TimeGenerated desc
Splunk SPL
index=* sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4665
| stats count earliest(_time) as first_seen latest(_time) as last_seen by ComputerName
| sort - count   `# An attempt was made to create an application client context — add EventData fields: SubjectUserName, TargetUserName, LogonType, IpAddress`
Hunt event 4665 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 4663 An attempt was made to access an object 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 4665?

An attempt was made to create an application client context. Application client context creation attempt. COM-related event.

Which log records event 4665?

Event 4665 is written to the Security channel by Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing. Advanced Audit Policy — enable the 'Object Access' subcategory (Success and/or Failure).

How do you detect activity around event 4665?

No standalone alerting. Use for COM attack chain investigation.