huntrule

Windows Process Execution of DIT Snapshot Viewer (ditsnap.exe)

Alerts on execution of the DIT snapshot viewer tool ditsnap.exe on Windows.

FreeReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Category
process_creation
Author
Furkan Caliskan (@caliskanfurkan_) (SigmaHQ), DRL 1.1
Published
2020-07-04
Updated
2026-07-30
AnalysisDetection

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 flags process creation events where an executable named ditsnap.exe is launched and where its command line includes the string 'ditsnap.exe'. DIT snapshot inspection of ntds.dit can support credential access or offline analysis workflows, making execution visibility important for detecting potential AD data harvesting. The detection relies on Windows process creation telemetry containing the image path and command line.

Reporting behind it

Related detections9 linkedT1003.003 — drag to rearrange
Active Directory Database Dump via Ntdsutil IFM
Malicious NTDS.dit Extraction via Ntdsutil (via process_creation)
Malicious NTDS Extraction via ntdsutil IFM (via process_creation)
Malicious NTDS Database Staging to Audit Directory (via file_event)
IFM Creation Detected from Commandline - Installation from Media (via process_creation)
Malicious Credential Hive Copy from Volume Shadow Copy
Malicious File Copy via Esentutl Volume Shadow Access (via process_creation)
Malicious NTDS Extraction via NetExec (via process_creation)
Malicious Active Directory Database Dump via ntdsutil IFM (via process_creation)
Windows Process Execution of DIT Snapshot Viewer (ditsnap.exe)
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.