OSSEC / HIDS Rule 59205

OSSEC / HIDS rule catalog

• Rule family: OSSEC / HIDS
• Rule ID: 59205
• Definition status: Present in current source
• Alert message / subject: Windows Logon Failure
• Rule level: 3
• Definition checked: 2026-10-21

Interpretation and response

This event is recorded as “Windows Logon Failure”. Review the originating log and the affected host or service to determine whether the activity was expected.

An OSSEC/HIDS event records or correlates activity. Blocking depends on the originating application and any separately configured Active Response policy; an alert alone does not prove that an attack was blocked.

Documentation

The following guidance was migrated from the historical wiki and reviewed against the rule definition. Legacy ASL product names and interface instructions refer to the versions documented then. Use the current metadata above and your installed configuration when interpreting thresholds, notification settings and response behavior.

Description

Windows has detected a logon failure. The attempted logon may have an incorrect password, username or other authentication credential has failed. Accounts that are locked out may also generate logon failures when attempts are made to use locked out accounts.

Associated Windows Event IDs

• 529
• 530
• 531
• 532
• 533
• 534
• 535
• 536
• 537
• 539
• 4625

What you should do

This means that the logon failed to authenticate correctly. If this event has occurred because of a bad password, time restrictions or other specific reasons additional rules will be triggered for the event. This is a generic alert from Microsoft, and you should check for additional events for this agent to see what the specific reason the logon failed. Additional rules for this category of events are:

HIDS_59222 Windows: Remote Logon Failure - Unknown user or bad password

HIDS_59223 Logon Failure - Account logon time restriction violation

HIDS_59224 Logon Failure - Account currently disabled

HIDS_59225 Logon Failure - Specified account expired

HIDS_59226 Logon Failure - User not allowed to login at this computer

HIDS_59227 Logon Failure - User not granted logon type

HIDS_59228 Logon Failure - Account’s password expired

HIDS_59229 Logon Failure - Internal error

HIDS_59230 Logon Failure - Account locked out

Troubleshooting

False Positives

A legitimate event may still trigger this rule. Review the surrounding activity before deciding whether it is malicious.

Tuning Guidance

There is no guidance for tuning this rule, this is a generic Windows error and the rule should not be disabled.

Additional Information

Support

If you are unsure about how to respond to this alert, please contact Atomicorp support. We’re here to help you!

Source and revision

Migrated from HIDS_59205, wiki page 737, revision 6091 (20201020). Documentation review: 2026-10-21. An archived wiki status of Active is not a current deployment status.

For assistance, provide the rule ID, installed product and rule version, and a sanitized event to Atomicorp support .