Malicious NTDS Credential Theft via Wbadmin Backup
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-09-29
- Updated
- 2026-09-29
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 wbadmin being used to back up or recover the Active Directory database NTDS.dit, an approach attackers use to extract domain credential hashes offline. This was observed after SonicWall VPN exploitation during Akira intrusions. Access to NTDS.dit yields all domain password hashes and enables full domain compromise.
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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