T1003.006 DCSync

T1003.006 DCSync

Sub-technique of: T1003

High-Level Description

Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API) to simulate the replication process from a remote domain controller using a technique called DCSync.

Members of the Administrators, Domain Admins, and Enterprise Admin groups or computer accounts on the domain controller are able to run DCSync to pull password data from Active Directory, which may include current and historical hashes of potentially useful accounts such as KRBTGT and Administrators. The hashes can then in turn be used to create a Golden Ticket for use in Pass the Ticket or change an account's password as noted in Account Manipulation.

DCSync functionality has been included in the "lsadump" module in Mimikatz. Lsadump also includes NetSync, which performs DCSync over a legacy replication protocol.

Kill Chain Phase

• Credential Access (TA0006)

Platforms: Windows

What to Check

• Identify if DCSync technique is applicable to target environment
• Check Windows systems for indicators of DCSync
• Verify mitigations are bypassed or absent (3 known mitigations)
• Assess detection coverage (1 detection strategies)

How to Test

Atomic Red Team Tests

The following tests are from Atomic Red Team and provide actionable ways to test this technique:

Atomic Test 1: DCSync (Active Directory)

Active Directory attack allowing retrieval of account information without accessing memory or retrieving the NTDS database. Works against a remote Windows Domain Controller using the replication protocol. Privileges required: domain admin or domain controller account (by default), or any other account with required rights. Reference

Supported Platforms: windows