4985 Security log · Object Access info severity low volume

Windows Event ID 4985 — The state of a transaction has changed

Transaction state changed. Typically filesystem or database transaction activity.

Why event 4985 matters

Minimal threat relevance in most environments.

How to detect it

No alerting recommended.

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 == 4985   // The state of a transaction has changed
| project TimeGenerated, Computer, SubjectUserName, TargetUserName, LogonType, IpAddress, WorkstationName
| sort by TimeGenerated desc
Splunk SPL
index=* sourcetype="WinEventLog:Security" EventCode=4985
| stats count earliest(_time) as first_seen latest(_time) as last_seen by ComputerName
| sort - count   `# The state of a transaction has changed — add EventData fields: SubjectUserName, TargetUserName, LogonType, IpAddress`
Hunt event 4985 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 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 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 4985?

The state of a transaction has changed. Transaction state changed. Typically filesystem or database transaction activity.

Which log records event 4985?

Event 4985 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 4985?

No alerting recommended.