Privileged certificate request via certificate template

Synopsis

Field	Value
Activation Period	14 Days
Training Period	30 Days
Test Period	N/A (single event)
Deduplication Period	1 Day
Required Data	Requires one of the following data sources: Windows Event Collector OR XDR Agent with eXtended Threat Hunting (XTH)
Detection Modules	Identity Analytics
Detector Tags	Active Directory Certificate Services Analytics
ATT&CK Tactic	Privilege Escalation (TA0004)
ATT&CK Technique	Valid Accounts: Domain Accounts (T1078.002)
Severity	Informational

Description

A privileged certificate was requested via certificate template.

Attacker's Goals

An attacker may attempt to exploit the Active Directory Certificate Services to escalate privileges to a domain controller or privileged account.

Investigative actions

• Check if this is a legitimate certificate request.
• Check if the certificate issued was used to request a Kerberos ticket.
• Investigate actions done with the issued certificate and its owner.
• Check for possible NTLM relay alerts.

Variations

Suspicious privileged certificate request denied via certificate template

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Privilege Escalation (TA0004)
ATT&CK Technique	Valid Accounts: Domain Accounts (T1078.002)
Severity	Medium

Description

A suspicious privileged certificate request was denied via certificate template.

Attacker's Goals

An attacker may attempt to exploit the Active Directory Certificate Services to escalate privileges to a domain controller or privileged account.

Investigative actions

• Check if this is a legitimate certificate request.
• Check if the certificate issued was used to request a Kerberos ticket.
• Investigate actions done with the issued certificate and its owner.
• Check for possible NTLM relay alerts.

Suspicious privileged certificate request via certificate template

Synopsis

Field	Value
ATT&CK Tactic	Privilege Escalation (TA0004)
ATT&CK Technique	Valid Accounts: Domain Accounts (T1078.002)
Severity	Low

Description

A suspicious privileged certificate was requested via certificate template.

Attacker's Goals

An attacker may attempt to exploit the Active Directory Certificate Services to escalate privileges to a domain controller or privileged account.

Investigative actions

• Check if this is a legitimate certificate request.
• Check if the certificate issued was used to request a Kerberos ticket.
• Investigate actions done with the issued certificate and its owner.
• Check for possible NTLM relay alerts.