Special groups have been assigned to a new logon
Special groups (`Auditpol Special Groups`) were assigned to an authenticating session.
When administrators configure the `Special Groups` auditing registry/policy, Event ID 4964 is emitted whenever a user belonging to designated critical groups (`Domain Admins`, `VIP Users`) logs onto any machine.
Failure Reason / Root Cause:
High-value identity authentication tracked via Special Groups monitoring.
Raw Event XML snippet
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing" Guid="{54849625-5478-4994-A5BA-3E3B0328C30D}" />
<EventID>4964</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>0</Level>
<Task>12544</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8020000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2026-07-17T09:54:44.926Z" />
<EventRecordID>1048576</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="612" ThreadID="1024" />
<Channel>Security</Channel>
<Computer>DC01.enterprise.internal</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="SubjectUserSid">S-1-5-18</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectUserName">SYSTEM</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectDomainName">NT AUTHORITY</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectLogonId">0x3e7</Data>
<!-- Event telemetry fields specific to Special groups have been assigned to a new logon -->
</EventData>
</Event>MITRE ATT&CK mapping
| ID | Technique | Tactic |
|---|---|---|
T1078 | Valid Accounts | Privilege Escalation |
Recommended actions
- Use Event 4964 as a high-fidelity tripwire for monitoring VIP and Domain Admin movement across non-tier-0 endpoints.