- Tactics
- defense-impairment, Persistence, Credential Access
- Platforms
- Windows
- Reference
- attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1556.001
Description
Adversaries may patch the authentication process on a domain controller to bypass the typical authentication mechanisms and enable access to accounts.
Malware may be used to inject false credentials into the authentication process on a domain controller with the intent of creating a backdoor used to access any user’s account and/or credentials (ex: Skeleton Key). Skeleton key works through a patch on an enterprise domain controller authentication process (LSASS) with credentials that adversaries may use to bypass the standard authentication system. Once patched, an adversary can use the injected password to successfully authenticate as any domain user account (until the the skeleton key is erased from memory by a reboot of the domain controller). Authenticated access may enable unfettered access to hosts and/or resources within single-factor authentication environments.(Citation: Dell Skeleton)
How GTK Cyber trains on this
GTK Cyber's Threat Hunting with Data Science course teaches you to build machine-learning detections for techniques like this across the MITRE ATT&CK framework, including the defense-impairment, Persistence, Credential Access tactic this technique falls under. Practitioner-led, focused on real detections, not memorizing technique IDs.
Related techniques
- T1003 - OS Credential Dumping
- T1037 - Boot or Logon Initialization Scripts
- T1040 - Network Sniffing
- T1053 - Scheduled Task/Job
- T1056 - Input Capture
- T1078 - Valid Accounts
- T1098 - Account Manipulation
- T1110 - Brute Force
- T1111 - Multi-Factor Authentication Interception
- T1112 - Modify Registry
- T1133 - External Remote Services
- T1136 - Create Account