Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights. By default, the NTDS file (NTDS.dit) is located in %SystemRoot%\NTDS\Ntds.dit of a domain controller.[1]
In addition to looking for NTDS files on active Domain Controllers, attackers may search for backups that contain the same or similar information.[2]
The following tools and techniques can be used to enumerate the NTDS file and the contents of the entire Active Directory hashes.
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| G0007 | APT28 |
APT28 has used the ntdsutil.exe utility to export the Active Directory database for credential access.[3] |
| G0114 | Chimera |
Chimera has gathered the SYSTEM registry and ntds.dit files from target systems.[4] Chimera specifically has used the NtdsAudit tool to dump the password hashes of domain users via |
| S0488 | CrackMapExec |
CrackMapExec can dump hashed passwords associated with Active Directory using Windows' Directory Replication Services API (DRSUAPI), or Volume Shadow Copy.[6] |
| G0074 | Dragonfly 2.0 |
Dragonfly 2.0 dropped and executed SecretsDump to dump password hashes. They also obtained ntds.dit from domain controllers. [7][8][9] |
| S0404 | esentutl |
esentutl can use Volume Shadow Copy to copy locked files such as ntds.dit.[10][11] |
| G0037 | FIN6 |
FIN6 has used Metasploit’s PsExec NTDSGRAB module to obtain a copy of the victim's Active Directory database.[12][13] |
| G0117 | Fox Kitten |
Fox Kitten has used Volume Shadow Copy to access credential information from NTDS.[14] |
| G0125 | HAFNIUM |
HAFNIUM has stolen copies of the Active Directory database (NTDS.DIT).[15] |
| S0357 | Impacket |
SecretsDump and Mimikatz modules within Impacket can perform credential dumping to obtain account and password information from NTDS.dit.[16] |
| S0250 | Koadic |
Koadic can gather hashed passwords by gathering domain controller hashes from NTDS.[17] |
| G0045 | menuPass | |
| G0129 | Mustang Panda |
Mustang Panda has used vssadmin to create a volume shadow copy and retrieve the NTDS.dit file. Mustang Panda has also used |
| G0102 | Wizard Spider |
Wizard Spider has gained access to credentials via exported copies of the ntds.dit Active Directory database.[20] |
| ID | Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| M1041 | Encrypt Sensitive Information |
Ensure Domain Controller backups are properly secured.[2] |
| M1027 | Password Policies |
Ensure that local administrator accounts have complex, unique passwords across all systems on the network. |
| M1026 | Privileged Account Management |
Do not put user or admin domain accounts in the local administrator groups across systems unless they are tightly controlled, as this is often equivalent to having a local administrator account with the same password on all systems. Follow best practices for design and administration of an enterprise network to limit privileged account use across administrative tiers. |
| M1017 | User Training |
Limit credential overlap across accounts and systems by training users and administrators not to use the same password for multiple accounts. |
| ID | Data Source | Data Component |
|---|---|---|
| DS0017 | Command | Command Execution |
| DS0022 | File | File Access |
Monitor processes and command-line arguments for program execution that may be indicative of credential dumping, especially attempts to access or copy the NTDS.dit.