Malicious NTDS.DIT Extraction via Ntdsutil IFM
- 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 ntdsutil.exe creating an Install From Media set to extract the Active Directory database NTDS.DIT, a domain credential theft technique described by Huntress. Attackers dump NTDS.DIT to obtain every domain account hash for offline cracking and lateral movement. IFM creation outside of planned domain controller promotion is a critical credential-access event.
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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