NTDS.dit file written by an uncommon executable

Synopsis

Field	Value
Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Day
Required Data	XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)
ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	OS Credential Dumping (T1003), OS Credential Dumping: NTDS (T1003.003)
Severity	Low

Description

The Active Directory database file was written by an uncommon process to a non-default location.

Attacker's Goals

Dump the sensitive contents of the database to masquerade as legitimate domain users.

Investigative actions

• Investigate the nature of the process writing the sensitive file. Is it a standard backup procedure?
• Check the path the file was written to. Is it local? Are there other relevant artifacts in this location?

Variations

NTDS.dit file written by a remote actor

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	OS Credential Dumping (T1003), OS Credential Dumping: NTDS (T1003.003)
Severity	High

Description

The Active Directory database file was written to the disk by a remote actor.

Attacker's Goals

Dump the sensitive contents of the database to masquerade as legitimate domain users.

Investigative actions

• Investigate the nature of the process writing the sensitive file. Is it a standard backup procedure?
• Check the path the file was written to. Is it local? Are there other relevant artifacts in this location?

NTDS.dit file written by a rare executable to a suspicious path

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	OS Credential Dumping (T1003), OS Credential Dumping: NTDS (T1003.003)
Severity	High

Description

The Active Directory database file was written by a rare process to a suspicious path.

Attacker's Goals

Dump the sensitive contents of the database to masquerade as legitimate domain users.

Investigative actions

• Investigate the nature of the process writing the sensitive file. Is it a standard backup procedure?
• Check the path the file was written to. Is it local? Are there other relevant artifacts in this location?

NTDS.dit file written by a rare executable

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Credential Access (TA0006)
ATT&CK Technique	OS Credential Dumping (T1003), OS Credential Dumping: NTDS (T1003.003)
Severity	Medium

Description

The Active Directory database file was written by a rare process to a non-default location.

Attacker's Goals

Dump the sensitive contents of the database to masquerade as legitimate domain users.

Investigative actions

• Investigate the nature of the process writing the sensitive file. Is it a standard backup procedure?
• Check the path the file was written to. Is it local? Are there other relevant artifacts in this location?