4756 Security log · Account Management high severity low volume

Windows Event ID 4756 — A member was added to a security-enabled universal group

User added to a universal security group (e.g., Enterprise Admins, universal distribution groups with security).

Why event 4756 matters

Universal groups replicate to Global Catalog — changes are forest-wide. Enterprise Admins is a universal group. Additions to Enterprise Admins provide forest-wide admin access.

How to detect it

Alert: GroupName=Enterprise Admins or any universal group with forest-wide privileges. Alert: outside change management windows.

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

MITRE ATT&CK mapping

Tactic Technique
Persistence Account Manipulation (T1098)

Detection queries

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

Sentinel / Defender KQL
SecurityEvent
| where EventID == 4756   // A member was added to a security-enabled universal group
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, MemberName, TargetUserName, SubjectUserName
| sort by TimeGenerated desc
Splunk SPL
index=* sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4756
| stats count earliest(_time) as first_seen latest(_time) as last_seen by ComputerName
| sort - count   `# A member was added to a security-enabled universal group — add EventData fields: MemberName, TargetUserName, SubjectUserName`
Hunt event 4756 in Sentinel/Defender →
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Related Account Management events

4720 A user account was created 4722 A user account was enabled 4723 An attempt was made to change an account's password 4724 An attempt was made to reset an account's password 4725 A user account was disabled 4726 A user account was deleted 4728 A member was added to a security-enabled global group 4729 A member was removed from a security-enabled global group 4730 A security-enabled global group was deleted 4731 A security-enabled local group was created 4732 A member was added to a security-enabled local group 4733 A member was removed from a security-enabled local group

Frequently asked questions

What is Windows Event ID 4756?

A member was added to a security-enabled universal group. User added to a universal security group (e.g., Enterprise Admins, universal distribution groups with security).

Which log records event 4756?

Event 4756 is written to the Security channel by Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing. Advanced Audit Policy — enable the 'Account Management' subcategory (Success and/or Failure).

What MITRE ATT&CK techniques map to event 4756?

Event 4756 is associated with: Account Manipulation (T1098).

How do you detect activity around event 4756?

Alert: GroupName=Enterprise Admins or any universal group with forest-wide privileges. Alert: outside change management windows.