diff --git a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
index 7d155d3ca72..51d1d72787f 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v7.0.0-alpha2...master[Check the HEAD d
 - Fix an issue where error messages are not accurate in mapstriface. {issue}18662[18662] {pull}18663[18663]
 - Fix regression in `add_kubernetes_metadata`, so configured `indexers` and `matchers` are used if defaults are not disabled. {issue}18481[18481] {pull}18818[18818]
 - Fix potential race condition in fingerprint processor. {pull}18738[18738]
+- Fix the `translate_sid` processor's handling of unconfigured target fields. {issue}18990[18990] {pull}18991[18991]
 
 *Auditbeat*
 
diff --git a/libbeat/processors/translate_sid/translatesid.go b/libbeat/processors/translate_sid/translatesid.go
index 491ed66859f..f794019d78e 100644
--- a/libbeat/processors/translate_sid/translatesid.go
+++ b/libbeat/processors/translate_sid/translatesid.go
@@ -111,14 +111,20 @@ func (p *processor) translateSID(event *beat.Event) error {
 
 	// Do all operations even if one fails.
 	var errs []error
-	if _, err = event.PutValue(p.AccountNameTarget, account); err != nil {
-		errs = append(errs, err)
+	if p.AccountNameTarget != "" {
+		if _, err = event.PutValue(p.AccountNameTarget, account); err != nil {
+			errs = append(errs, err)
+		}
 	}
-	if _, err = event.PutValue(p.AccountTypeTarget, sys.SIDType(accountType).String()); err != nil {
-		errs = append(errs, err)
+	if p.AccountTypeTarget != "" {
+		if _, err = event.PutValue(p.AccountTypeTarget, sys.SIDType(accountType).String()); err != nil {
+			errs = append(errs, err)
+		}
 	}
-	if _, err = event.PutValue(p.DomainTarget, domain); err != nil {
-		errs = append(errs, err)
+	if p.DomainTarget != "" {
+		if _, err = event.PutValue(p.DomainTarget, domain); err != nil {
+			errs = append(errs, err)
+		}
 	}
 	return multierr.Combine(errs...)
 }
diff --git a/libbeat/processors/translate_sid/translatesid_test.go b/libbeat/processors/translate_sid/translatesid_test.go
index ad1fbc6a4b8..529f90b065f 100644
--- a/libbeat/processors/translate_sid/translatesid_test.go
+++ b/libbeat/processors/translate_sid/translatesid_test.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"golang.org/x/sys/windows"
 
 	"github.com/elastic/beats/v7/libbeat/beat"
@@ -83,6 +84,41 @@ func TestTranslateSID(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestTranslateSIDEmptyTarget(t *testing.T) {
+	c := defaultConfig()
+	c.Field = "sid"
+
+	evt := &beat.Event{Fields: map[string]interface{}{
+		"sid": "S-1-5-32-544",
+	}}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		Name   string
+		Config config
+	}{
+		{"account_name", config{Field: "sid", AccountNameTarget: "account_name"}},
+		{"account_type", config{Field: "sid", AccountTypeTarget: "account_type"}},
+		{"domain", config{Field: "sid", DomainTarget: "domain"}},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range tests {
+		tc := tc
+		t.Run(tc.Name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			p, err := newFromConfig(tc.Config)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			evt, err := p.Run(&beat.Event{Fields: evt.Fields.Clone()})
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+
+			// Verify that only the configured target field is set.
+			// And ensure that no empty string keys are used.
+			assert.Len(t, evt.Fields, 2)
+			assert.Contains(t, evt.Fields, tc.Name)
+			assert.NotContains(t, evt.Fields, "")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func BenchmarkProcessor_Run(b *testing.B) {
 	p, err := newFromConfig(config{
 		Field:             "sid",