Possible Shadow Credentials Abuse via msDS-KeyCredentialLink Modification

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Cred Access

Recon
Resource Dev
Initial Access
Execution
Persistence
- T1098Account Manipulation
- T1556Modify Authentication Process
Priv Esc
- T1098Account Manipulation
Defense Evasion
- T1556Modify Authentication Process
Cred Access
- T1556Modify Authentication Process
Discovery
Lateral Movement
Collection
C2
Exfiltration
Impact

What it detects

This rule detects modification of the msDS-KeyCredentialLink attribute on a directory object. Adversaries write key credentials to this attribute to perform certificate-based authentication as the target account, a technique known as Shadow Credentials used for persistence and credential theft.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1098 — drag to rearrange

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Possible Shadow Credentials Abuse via msDS-KeyCredentialLink Modification

Pivot detection · T1098 · 9 related

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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