Malicious NTDS Extraction via ntdsutil IFM (via process_creation)
- Product
- windows
- Category
- process_creation
- Author
- HuntRule
- Published
- 2026-09-07
- Updated
- 2026-09-07
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 use of ntdsutil to create an Install From Media copy of the Active Directory database. Qilin ransomware operators ran ntdsutil with the ifm create full arguments to extract the NTDS database and registry hives for offline credential harvesting.
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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