[REQ-END-118] Configure User Rights: Profile single process

Target Scope

  • Applicable Systems: Tier 2 client workstations and member servers. (For Tier 0 Privileged Access Workstations, refer to tightened baseline REQ-PAW-110). (For Domain Controllers, refer to REQ-DC-131).
  • Operating Systems: Windows 10 Enterprise/Professional (1809 and above), Windows 11 Enterprise/Pro, Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2025.

Implementation Details

  • Priority: Low
  • GPO Path / Registry Location:
    • Policy Display Name: Profile single process
    • Privilege Constant: SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege
    • GPO Path: Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\User Rights Assignment\Profile single process
    • Registry Location: Stored inside local security database under privilege SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege set to *S-1-5-32-544 (Administrators).

Rationale

The SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege allows a process to monitor and profile the performance and execution metrics of non-system processes using Windows performance sampling APIs. Profiling tools monitor instruction execution rates, thread context switches, memory cache behavior, and execution sampling.

1. Technical Threat Vector & Abuse Mechanics

An adversary who obtains profiling privileges can perform sophisticated reverse engineering, side-channel analysis, and exploit development: (1) Memory Layout De-randomization: By profiling process memory and execution timings, an attacker can deduce memory layouts and defeat Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR); (2) Side-Channel Cryptographic Attacks: Profiling cache hits/misses and instruction timings can expose cryptographic key material processed in co-located processes; (3) Security Software Tampering: Attackers analyze EDR sensor thread behavior to identify blind spots or execution hooks.

2. Architectural Defense & Least Privilege Enforcement

On general workstations and member servers, enforcing least privilege for this user right is critical for host isolation. Preventing unprivileged users or rogue applications from exercising this right stops local privilege escalation (LPE) and blocks adversaries from leveraging co-located user sessions to harvest credentials or pivot across the corporate subnet.

This privilege must be restricted exclusively to Administrators (S-1-5-32-544). Standard users, interactive workstation operators, and general service accounts must not have process profiling capabilities.

3. MITRE ATT&CK Mapping

  • T1057 - Process Discovery
  • T1055 - Process Injection
  • T1562 - Impair Defenses

Legacy Impact & Compatibility

  • Operational Impact: Restricting SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege to Administrators prevents unauthorized thread profiling without impacting standard application performance. Developers using standalone profiling tools (such as Visual Studio Profiler) must elevate to administrative context. Auditing is captured under Security Event ID 4672.

Implementation Steps

Option A: Group Policy Object (GPO) Configuration (Preferred)

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console (gpmc.msc).
  2. Navigate to the targeted GPO linked to Tier 2 systems (e.g., GPO_Hardening_Endpoints).
  3. In the console tree, browse to: Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\User Rights Assignment
  4. Open the policy Profile single process.
  5. Select the Define these policy settings check box.
  6. Configure the security principal allocation to: *S-1-5-32-544 (Administrators).
  7. Click Apply and OK.
  8. Apply and verify policy enforcement across target hosts using gpupdate /force and inspect with secedit /export /cfg C:\Windows\Temp\sec_audit.cfg.

Option B: PowerShell & Registry Configuration (Remediation / Non-GPO)

Download Script: Configure-UraSeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege.ps1

# Configure-UraSeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege.ps1
$SecTempDir = Join-Path $env:TEMP "SecurityTemplates"
if (-not (Test-Path $SecTempDir)) { New-Item -Path $SecTempDir -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null }
$CfgFile = Join-Path $SecTempDir "ura_seprofilesingleprocessprivilege.cfg"
$DbFile = Join-Path $SecTempDir "secedit_seprofilesingleprocessprivilege.sdb"
$LogFile = Join-Path $SecTempDir "secedit.log"

$Process = Start-Process secedit -ArgumentList "/export /cfg `"$CfgFile`"" -Wait -NoNewWindow -PassThru
if ($Process.ExitCode -ne 0) { Throw "Failed to export security template" }

$ConfigText = Get-Content -Path $CfgFile -Raw
if ($ConfigText -notmatch "\[Privilege Rights\]") {
    $ConfigText += "`r`n[Privilege Rights]`r`n"
}

$Lines = $ConfigText -split "`r?`n"
$NewLines = @()
$InPriv = $false
$KeyAdded = $false

foreach ($Line in $Lines) {
    if ($Line -match "^\[(.*)\]$") {
        if ($Matches[1] -eq "Privilege Rights") {
            $InPriv = $true
        } else {
            $InPriv = $false
        }
    }
    if ($InPriv -and $Line -match "^\s*SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege\s*=") {
        $NewLines += "SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege = *S-1-5-32-544"
        $KeyAdded = $true
    } else {
        $NewLines += $Line
    }
}

if (-not $KeyAdded) {
    # Find Privilege Rights section index and insert it right after
    $Idx = $NewLines.IndexOf("[Privilege Rights]")
    if ($Idx -ge 0) {
        $NewLines.Insert($Idx + 1, "SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege = *S-1-5-32-544")
    } else {
        $NewLines += "SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege = *S-1-5-32-544"
    }
}

$NewLines | Set-Content -Path $CfgFile -Force
$Proc = Start-Process secedit -ArgumentList "/configure /db `"$DbFile`" /cfg `"$CfgFile`" /areas USER_RIGHTS /log `"$LogFile`"" -Wait -NoNewWindow -PassThru
if ($Proc.ExitCode -ne 0) { Throw "Failed to configure secedit user rights" }
Remove-Item -Path $CfgFile, $DbFile -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

To audit the hardening status: Download Script: Get-UraSeProfileSingleProcessPrivilegeStatus.ps1

# Get-UraSeProfileSingleProcessPrivilegeStatus.ps1
$SecTempDir = Join-Path $env:TEMP "SecurityTemplates"
if (-not (Test-Path $SecTempDir)) { New-Item -Path $SecTempDir -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null }
$CfgFile = Join-Path $SecTempDir "ura_audit_seprofilesingleprocessprivilege.cfg"

$Process = Start-Process secedit -ArgumentList "/export /cfg `"$CfgFile`"" -Wait -NoNewWindow -PassThru
if ($Process.ExitCode -ne 0) {
    Write-Output "Non-Compliant"
    exit 1
}

$ConfigText = Get-Content -Path $CfgFile -Raw
Remove-Item -Path $CfgFile -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

$Match = $ConfigText -match "(?mi)^\s*SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege\s*=\s*(.*)$"
$CurrentValue = ""
if ($Match) {
    $CurrentValue = $Matches[1].Trim()
}

$Expected = "*S-1-5-32-544"
if ($CurrentValue -eq $Expected) {
    Write-Output "Compliant"
    exit 0
} else {
    Write-Output "Non-Compliant"
    exit 1
}

Sources & Compliance References

  • ANSSI Active Directory Hardening Guide: ANSSI Active Directory Hardening Guide: R28 (User Rights Assignment)
  • CIS Benchmark: 2.2.34 (L1) Ensure 'Profile single process' is set to 'Administrators'
  • Microsoft Security Baseline: User Rights Configuration specifications
  • Microsoft Learn: User Rights Assignment Reference

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