Attack Ent T1003 003 Ntds

MITRE ATT&CK T1003.003: NTDS

When to use this skill

Use this skill when the task involves T1003.003, NTDS, enterprise ATT&CK, TTP mapping, detection engineering, hunting, incident-response enrichment, control validation, or authorized adversary-emulation planning. Treat it as a defensive analysis aid: keep outputs focused on understanding, detecting, mitigating, and safely validating this ATT&CK sub-technique.

Technique context

• ATT&CK domain: enterprise
• ATT&CK ID: T1003.003
• Technique name: NTDS
• Type: sub-technique
• ATT&CK URL: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1003/003
• Tactics: credential-access
• Platforms: Windows
• Required permissions: Not specified
• Effective permissions: Not specified
• Defenses bypassed: Not specified

ATT&CK description

Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights. By default, the NTDS file (NTDS.dit) is located in %SystemRoot%\NTDS\Ntds.dit of a domain controller.(Citation: Wikipedia Active Directory)

In addition to looking for NTDS files on active Domain Controllers, adversaries may search for backups that contain the same or similar information.(Citation: Metcalf 2015)

The following tools and techniques can be used to enumerate the NTDS file and the contents of the entire Active Directory hashes.

• Volume Shadow Copy
• secretsdump.py
• Using the in-built Windows tool, ntdsutil.exe
• Invoke-NinjaCopy

Agent workflow

1. Clarify scope: identify the system, asset class, log sources, cloud or endpoint platform, and whether the user wants triage, detection, coverage assessment, or safe emulation planning.
2. Load bundled resources as needed: use references/technique-profile.json for structured metadata, references/detection-and-mitigation.md for triage and telemetry guidance, references/known-threat-context.md for ATT&CK relationship context, and templates/ for repeatable outputs.
3. Map observations to ATT&CK: compare the user's evidence to the ATT&CK description, tactics, platforms, and known procedure patterns before asserting a match.
4. Produce defensive outputs: prioritize hypotheses, telemetry requirements, detection logic ideas, validation steps, containment guidance, and mitigations.
5. Preserve uncertainty: distinguish confirmed evidence, plausible indicators, assumptions, and gaps. Recommend what to collect next.
6. Stay safe: do not provide malware, credential theft, persistence, evasion, destructive automation, or unauthorized exploitation instructions. For adversary emulation, keep steps bounded to approved lab or control-validation contexts and omit operational abuse details.

Bundled resources

• references/technique-profile.json: machine-readable ATT&CK metadata for this technique.
• references/detection-and-mitigation.md: detection notes, telemetry checklist, triage questions, mitigation candidates, and false-positive considerations.
• references/known-threat-context.md: ATT&CK relationship context with attribution cautions.
• templates/detection-brief.md: detection engineering brief template.
• templates/hunt-plan.md: threat hunt plan template.
• templates/incident-response-note.md: incident response note template.
• templates/coverage-assessment.md: ATT&CK coverage assessment template.
• scripts/render_brief.py: local helper that renders a Markdown defensive brief from technique-profile.json.
• assets/output-schema.json: JSON schema for structured technique analysis outputs.

To generate a quick brief, run python scripts/render_brief.py --output brief.md from inside this skill directory, or adapt the templates directly.

Detection guidance

No ATT&CK detection guidance was present in the source STIX object.

Useful telemetry and data sources

• Not specified in the STIX object.

Mitigations to consider

• Encrypt Sensitive Information
• Password Policies
• Privileged Account Management
• User Training

Known threat context

Use these examples only as contextual leads, not as proof that an observed event is this technique:

• 2025 Poland Wiper Attacks (campaign)
• APT28 (intrusion-set)
• APT28 Nearest Neighbor Campaign (campaign)
• APT41 (intrusion-set)
• Chimera (intrusion-set)
• CrackMapExec (tool)
• Cutting Edge (campaign)
• Dragonfly (intrusion-set)
• FIN13 (intrusion-set)
• FIN6 (intrusion-set)
• Fox Kitten (intrusion-set)
• HAFNIUM (intrusion-set)
• Impacket (tool)
• Ke3chang (intrusion-set)
• Koadic (tool)
• LAPSUS$ (intrusion-set)
• Medusa Group (intrusion-set)
• MirrorFace (intrusion-set)
• Mustang Panda (intrusion-set)
• Operation MidnightEclipse (campaign)

Recommended output pattern

When responding with this skill, structure the answer as:

• Assessment: whether the evidence supports this ATT&CK mapping and why.
• Evidence: specific indicators, logs, behaviors, and assumptions.
• Detection: telemetry sources, analytic logic, and tuning considerations.
• Response: containment, eradication, recovery, and validation actions.
• Coverage gaps: missing logs, sensors, controls, or environmental details.
• References: include the ATT&CK URL and any user-provided evidence references.

ATT&CK contributors

• Ed Williams, Trustwave, SpiderLabs