Malicious Active Directory Database (NTDS.dit) Extraction (via process_creation)
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-05-06
- Updated
- 2026-08-28
ATT&CK techniques
Cred AccessRecon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
Priv Esc
Defense Evasion
Cred Access
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact
What it detects
This rule detects extraction of the Active Directory database via ntdsutil Install-From-Media snapshots or shadow-copy access to ntds.dit, which yields every domain credential hash for offline cracking and forging. NTDS credential access is a high-impact technique in the Red Canary Threat Detection Report and a common precursor to domain-wide compromise. Detecting these extraction commands surfaces a domain-controller-level credential theft.
Reporting behind it
Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.
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