An attempt was made to create a hard link

// EVENT DEFINITION:

A process attempted to create an NTFS hard link between two file paths.

// DETAILED TELEMETRY & CONTEXT:

Event ID 4664 logs attempts to create hard links (`CreateHardLink`). Threat actors and privilege escalation exploits frequently abuse hard links on sensitive system files (such as `winlogon.exe` or spooler drivers) to trick privileged system services into overwriting arbitrary files (`Arbitrary File Write / Delete` CVEs).

[ ! ]Failure Reason / Root Cause Analysis

NTFS hard link creation attempt (`LinkName` pointing to `ObjectName`).

Operational Metadata & Applicability

Log Category:Object Access

Audit Type Classification:Success / Failure Audit

Supported Operating Systems:Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022 / Windows Client 10, 11 (Enterprise / Pro)

Threat Hunting Keywords:

4664hard link createdntfs linkfile overwrite exploit

MITRE ATT&CK Framework Alignment

T1068

Exploitation for Privilege EscalationTactic: Privilege Escalation

Mitigation Playbook & Recommended SOC Actions

•Investigate any hard link creations targeting system directories (`C:\Windows\System32`) or temporary folders (`C:\Windows\Temp`).
•Verify the user account and process creating the link.

Representative Windows Event XML Schema

<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>4664</EventID>
    <Version>0</Version>
    <Level>0</Level>
    <Task>12544</Task>
    <Opcode>0</Opcode>
    <Keywords>0x8020000000000000</Keywords>
    <TimeCreated SystemTime="2026-07-17T09:54:44.276Z" />
    <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 An attempt was made to create a hard link -->
  </EventData>
</Event>

Correlated / Related Security Event IDs

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