Malicious NTDS Database Dump via NTDSUtil in BlackSuit Ransomware

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-06-19
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Cred Access
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Persistence

  6. Priv Esc

  7. Defense Evasion

  8. Cred Access

  9. Discovery

  10. Lateral Movement

  11. Collection

  12. C2

  13. Exfiltration

  14. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects ntdsutil being used to create an installation from media (IFM) copy of the Active Directory database, a credential-access technique observed in BlackSuit ransomware intrusions. Dumping NTDS.dit gives operators every domain hash for offline cracking and full domain compromise, making this a critical detection.

Related detections9 linkedT1003.003 — drag to rearrange
Malicious NTDS Credential Dump via Ntdsutil IFM Snapshot (via process_creation)
Malicious NTDS Database Dump via ntdsutil
Malicious NTDS Extraction from Volume Shadow Copy by RA World
Malicious NTDS Extraction via ntdsutil IFM
Malicious NTDS.dit Access via Shadow Copy GLOBALROOT Path
Suspicious Shadow Copy Creation via WMIC (via process_creation)
Malicious NTDS Extraction via Ntdsutil IFM
Malicious NTDS.dit Credential Extraction via ntdsutil
Malicious NTDS Credential Theft via Wbadmin Backup
Malicious NTDS Database Dump via NTDSUtil in BlackSuit Ransomware
Pivot detection · T1003.003 · 9 related

Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.