Description
Adversaries may “pass the ticket” using stolen Kerberos tickets to move laterally within an environment, bypassing normal system access controls. Pass the ticket (PtT) is a method of authenticating to a system using Kerberos tickets without having access to an account's password. Kerberos authentication can be used as the first step to lateral movement to a remote system.
When preforming PtT, valid Kerberos tickets for Valid Accounts are captured by OS Credential Dumping. A user's service tickets or ticket granting ticket (TGT) may be obtained, depending on the level of access. A service ticket allows for access to a particular resource, whereas a TGT can be used to request service tickets from the Ticket Granting Service (TGS) to access any resource the user has privileges to access.(Citation: ADSecurity AD Kerberos Attacks)(Citation: GentilKiwi Pass the Ticket)
A Silver Ticket can be obtained for services that use Kerberos as an authentication mechanism and are used to generate tickets to access that particular resource and the system that hosts the resource (e.g., SharePoint).(Citation: ADSecurity AD Kerberos Attacks)
A Golden Ticket can be obtained for the domain using the Key Distribution Service account KRBTGT account NTLM hash, which enables generation of TGTs for any account in Active Directory.(Citation: Campbell 2014)
Adversaries may also create a valid Kerberos ticket using other user information, such as stolen password hashes or AES keys. For example, "overpassing the hash" involves using a NTLM password hash to authenticate as a user (i.e. Pass the Hash) while also using the password hash to create a valid Kerberos ticket.(Citation: Stealthbits Overpass-the-Hash)
Platforms
Mitigations (4)
Privileged Account ManagementM1026
Limit domain admin account permissions to domain controllers and limited servers. Delegate other admin functions to separate accounts.(Citation: ADSecurity AD Kerberos Attacks)
Password PoliciesM1027
Ensure that local administrator accounts have complex, unique passwords.
User Account ManagementM1018
Do not allow a user to be a local administrator for multiple systems.
Active Directory ConfigurationM1015
To contain the impact of a previously generated golden ticket, reset the built-in KRBTGT account password twice, which will invalidate any existing golden tickets that have been created with the KRBTGT hash and other Kerberos tickets derived from it.(Citation: ADSecurity Kerberos and KRBTGT) For each domain, change the KRBTGT account password once, force replication, and then change the password a
Threat Groups (3)
| ID | Group | Context |
|---|---|---|
| G0016 | APT29 | [APT29](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0016) used Kerberos ticket attacks for lateral movement.(Citation: Mandiant No Easy Breach) |
| G0050 | APT32 | [APT32](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0050) successfully gained remote access by using pass the ticket.(Citation: Cybereason Cobalt Kitty 2017) |
| G0060 | BRONZE BUTLER | [BRONZE BUTLER](https://attack.mitre.org/groups/G0060) has created forged Kerberos Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) and Ticket Granting Service (TGS) tick... |
Associated Software (3)
| ID | Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S0053 | SeaDuke | Malware | Some [SeaDuke](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0053) samples have a module to use pass the ticket with Kerberos for authentication.(Citation: Syman... |
| S0002 | Mimikatz | Tool | [Mimikatz](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0002)’s <code>LSADUMP::DCSync</code> and <code>KERBEROS::PTT</code> modules implement the three steps re... |
| S0192 | Pupy | Tool | [Pupy](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0192) can also perform pass-the-ticket.(Citation: GitHub Pupy) |
References
- Campbell, C. (2014). The Secret Life of Krbtgt. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
- Deply, B. (2014, January 13). Pass the ticket. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- Metcalf, S. (2014, November 22). Mimikatz and Active Directory Kerberos Attacks. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- Warren, J. (2019, February 26). How to Detect Overpass-the-Hash Attacks. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is T1550.003 (Pass the Ticket)?
T1550.003 is a MITRE ATT&CK technique named 'Pass the Ticket'. It belongs to the Lateral Movement tactic(s). Adversaries may “pass the ticket” using stolen Kerberos tickets to move laterally within an environment, bypassing normal system access controls. Pass the ticket (PtT) is a method of authenticating to...
How can T1550.003 be detected?
Detection of T1550.003 (Pass the Ticket) typically involves monitoring system logs, network traffic, and endpoint telemetry. Use SIEM rules, EDR solutions, and behavioral analytics to identify suspicious activity associated with this technique.
What mitigations exist for T1550.003?
There are 4 documented mitigations for T1550.003. Key mitigations include: Privileged Account Management, Password Policies, User Account Management, Active Directory Configuration.
Which threat groups use T1550.003?
Known threat groups using T1550.003 include: APT29, APT32, BRONZE BUTLER.