| name | T1558_steal-or-forge-kerberos-tickets |
| description | Adversaries may attempt to subvert Kerberos authentication by stealing or forging Kerberos tickets to enable Pass the Ticket. |
| category | authentication |
| version | 18.1 |
| author | cyberstrike-official |
| tags | ["mitre-attack","enterprise","t1558","credential-access","windows","linux","macos"] |
| technique_id | T1558 |
| tactic | credential-access |
| all_tactics | ["credential-access"] |
| platforms | ["Windows","Linux","macOS"] |
| mitre_url | https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1558 |
| tech_stack | ["windows","linux","macos"] |
| cwe_ids | ["CWE-522"] |
| chains_with | ["T1558.001","T1558.002","T1558.003","T1558.004","T1558.005"] |
| prerequisites | [] |
| severity_boost | {"T1558.001":"Chain with T1558.001 for deeper attack path","T1558.002":"Chain with T1558.002 for deeper attack path","T1558.003":"Chain with T1558.003 for deeper attack path"} |
T1558 Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets
High-Level Description
Adversaries may attempt to subvert Kerberos authentication by stealing or forging Kerberos tickets to enable Pass the Ticket. Kerberos is an authentication protocol widely used in modern Windows domain environments. In Kerberos environments, referred to as “realms”, there are three basic participants: client, service, and Key Distribution Center (KDC). Clients request access to a service and through the exchange of Kerberos tickets, originating from KDC, they are granted access after having successfully authenticated. The KDC is responsible for both authentication and ticket granting. Adversaries may attempt to abuse Kerberos by stealing tickets or forging tickets to enable unauthorized access.
On Windows, the built-in klist utility can be used to list and analyze cached Kerberos tickets.
Kill Chain Phase
- Credential Access (TA0006)
Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS
What to Check
How to Test
Manual Testing
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Identify Attack Surface: Determine if the target environment is susceptible to Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets by examining the target platforms (Windows, Linux, macOS).
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Assess Existing Defenses: Review whether mitigations for T1558 are in place. If defenses are absent or misconfigured, this technique may be exploitable.
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Execute Test: Use tools and methods described in the MITRE ATT&CK page and external references below.
Note: No Atomic Red Team tests available for this technique. See Atomic Red Team GitHub for updates.
Remediation Guide
M1015 Active Directory Configuration
