4704 Security log · Policy Change high severity low volume

Windows Event ID 4704 — A user right was assigned

A user right (privilege) was assigned to an account. Privilege and AccountName are key.

Why event 4704 matters

Assigning SeDebugPrivilege, SeTcbPrivilege, or other sensitive rights to non-admin accounts grants them persistent attack capabilities.

How to detect it

Alert: any sensitive privilege assigned to non-expected accounts. Alert: changes outside change management windows.

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

MITRE ATT&CK mapping

Tactic Technique
Privilege Escalation Access Token Manipulation (T1134)

Detection queries

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

Sentinel / Defender KQL
SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4704   // A user right was assigned
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, SubjectUserName, TargetUserName, LogonType, IpAddress, WorkstationName
| sort by TimeGenerated desc
Splunk SPL
index=* sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4704
| stats count earliest(_time) as first_seen latest(_time) as last_seen by ComputerName
| sort - count   `# A user right was assigned — add EventData fields: SubjectUserName, TargetUserName, LogonType, IpAddress`
Hunt event 4704 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 Policy Change events

4698 A scheduled task was created 4699 A scheduled task was deleted 4700 A scheduled task was enabled 4701 A scheduled task was disabled 4702 A scheduled task was updated 4703 A token right was adjusted 4705 A user right was removed 4706 A new trust was created to a domain 4707 A trust to a domain was removed 4713 Kerberos policy was changed 4714 Encrypted data recovery policy was changed 4715 The audit policy (SACL) on an object was changed

Frequently asked questions

What is Windows Event ID 4704?

A user right was assigned. A user right (privilege) was assigned to an account. Privilege and AccountName are key.

Which log records event 4704?

Event 4704 is written to the Security channel by Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing. Advanced Audit Policy — enable the 'Policy Change' subcategory (Success and/or Failure).

What MITRE ATT&CK techniques map to event 4704?

Event 4704 is associated with: Access Token Manipulation (T1134).

How do you detect activity around event 4704?

Alert: any sensitive privilege assigned to non-expected accounts. Alert: changes outside change management windows.