T1550.002 Pass the Hash
Adversaries may “pass the hash” using stolen password hashes to move laterally within an environment, bypassing normal system access controls. Pass the hash (PtH) is a method of authenticating as a user without having access to the user’s cleartext password. This method bypasses standard authentication steps that require a cleartext password, moving directly into the portion of the authentication that uses the password hash.
When performing PtH, valid password hashes for the account being used are captured using a Credential Access technique. Captured hashes are used with PtH to authenticate as that user. Once authenticated, PtH may be used to perform actions on local or remote systems.
Adversaries may also use stolen password hashes to “overpass the hash.” Similar to PtH, this involves using a password hash to authenticate as a user but also uses the password hash to create a valid Kerberos ticket. This ticket can then be used to perform Pass the Ticket attacks.1
Item | Value |
---|---|
ID | T1550.002 |
Sub-techniques | T1550.001, T1550.002, T1550.003, T1550.004 |
Tactics | TA0005, TA0008 |
Platforms | Windows |
Version | 1.1 |
Created | 30 January 2020 |
Last Modified | 30 March 2023 |
Procedure Examples
ID | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
G0006 | APT1 | The APT1 group is known to have used pass the hash.5 |
G0007 | APT28 | APT28 has used pass the hash for lateral movement.16 |
G0050 | APT32 | APT32 has used pass the hash for lateral movement.15 |
G0114 | Chimera | Chimera has dumped password hashes for use in pass the hash authentication attacks.13 |
S0154 | Cobalt Strike | Cobalt Strike can perform pass the hash.11 |
S0488 | CrackMapExec | CrackMapExec can pass the hash to authenticate via SMB.6 |
S0363 | Empire | Empire can perform pass the hash attacks.10 |
G0093 | GALLIUM | GALLIUM used dumped hashes to authenticate to other machines via pass the hash.17 |
S0376 | HOPLIGHT | HOPLIGHT has been observed loading several APIs associated with Pass the Hash.12 |
G0094 | Kimsuky | Kimsuky has used pass the hash for authentication to remote access software used in C2.14 |
S0002 | Mimikatz | Mimikatz‘s SEKURLSA::Pth module can impersonate a user, with only a password hash, to execute arbitrary commands.789 |
C0002 | Night Dragon | During Night Dragon, threat actors used pass-the-hash tools to obtain authenticated access to sensitive internal desktops and servers.18 |
S0122 | Pass-The-Hash Toolkit | Pass-The-Hash Toolkit can perform pass the hash.5 |
S0378 | PoshC2 | PoshC2 has a number of modules that leverage pass the hash for lateral movement.4 |
Mitigations
ID | Mitigation | Description |
---|---|---|
M1026 | Privileged Account Management | Limit credential overlap across systems to prevent the damage of credential compromise and reduce the adversary’s ability to perform Lateral Movement between systems. |
M1051 | Update Software | Apply patch KB2871997 to Windows 7 and higher systems to limit the default access of accounts in the local administrator group.3 |
M1052 | User Account Control | Enable pass the hash mitigations to apply UAC restrictions to local accounts on network logon. The associated Registry key is located HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System\LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy . |
M1018 | User Account Management | Do not allow a domain user to be in the local administrator group on multiple systems. |
Detection
ID | Data Source | Data Component |
---|---|---|
DS0026 | Active Directory | Active Directory Credential Request |
DS0028 | Logon Session | Logon Session Creation |
DS0002 | User Account | User Account Authentication |
References
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Warren, J. (2019, February 26). How to Detect Overpass-the-Hash Attacks. Retrieved February 4, 2021. ↩
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NSA IAD. (2017, January 24). MS Security Guide. Retrieved December 18, 2017. ↩
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National Security Agency/Central Security Service Information Assurance Directorate. (2015, August 7). Spotting the Adversary with Windows Event Log Monitoring. Retrieved September 6, 2018. ↩
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Nettitude. (2018, July 23). Python Server for PoshC2. Retrieved April 23, 2019. ↩
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Mandiant. (n.d.). APT1 Exposing One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units. Retrieved July 18, 2016. ↩↩
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byt3bl33d3r. (2018, September 8). SMB: Command Reference. Retrieved July 17, 2020. ↩
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Metcalf, S. (2015, November 13). Unofficial Guide to Mimikatz & Command Reference. Retrieved December 23, 2015. ↩
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The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), the New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NZ NCSC), CERT New Zealand, the UK National Cyber Security Centre (UK NCSC) and the US National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC). (2018, October 11). Joint report on publicly available hacking tools. Retrieved March 11, 2019. ↩
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Strategic Cyber LLC. (2020, November 5). Cobalt Strike: Advanced Threat Tactics for Penetration Testers. Retrieved April 13, 2021. ↩
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Schroeder, W., Warner, J., Nelson, M. (n.d.). Github PowerShellEmpire. Retrieved April 28, 2016. ↩
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Cobalt Strike. (2017, December 8). Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures. Retrieved December 20, 2017. ↩
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US-CERT. (2019, April 10). MAR-10135536-8 – North Korean Trojan: HOPLIGHT. Retrieved April 19, 2019. ↩
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Jansen, W . (2021, January 12). Abusing cloud services to fly under the radar. Retrieved January 19, 2021. ↩
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CISA, FBI, CNMF. (2020, October 27). https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/alerts/aa20-301a. Retrieved November 4, 2020. ↩
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Dahan, A. (2017). Operation Cobalt Kitty. Retrieved December 27, 2018. ↩
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Anthe, C. et al. (2015, October 19). Microsoft Security Intelligence Report Volume 19. Retrieved December 23, 2015. ↩
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Cybereason Nocturnus. (2019, June 25). Operation Soft Cell: A Worldwide Campaign Against Telecommunications Providers. Retrieved July 18, 2019. ↩
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McAfee® Foundstone® Professional Services and McAfee Labs™. (2011, February 10). Global Energy Cyberattacks: “Night Dragon”. Retrieved February 19, 2018. ↩