t1003-005-cached-domain-credentials

name	T1003.005_cached-domain-credentials
description	Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
category	authentication
version	18.1
author	cyberstrike-official
tags	["mitre-attack","enterprise","t1003.005","credential-access","windows","linux","sub-technique"]
technique_id	T1003.005
tactic	credential-access
all_tactics	["credential-access"]
platforms	["Windows","Linux"]
mitre_url	https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1003/005
tech_stack	["windows","linux"]
cwe_ids	["CWE-522"]
chains_with	["T1003","T1003.001","T1003.002","T1003.003","T1003.004","T1003.006","T1003.007","T1003.008"]
prerequisites	["T1003"]
severity_boost	{"T1003":"Chain with T1003 for deeper attack path","T1003.001":"Chain with T1003.001 for deeper attack path","T1003.002":"Chain with T1003.002 for deeper attack path"}

T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials

Sub-technique of: T1003

High-Level Description

Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.

On Windows Vista and newer, the hash format is DCC2 (Domain Cached Credentials version 2) hash, also known as MS-Cache v2 hash. The number of default cached credentials varies and can be altered per system. This hash does not allow pass-the-hash style attacks, and instead requires Password Cracking to recover the plaintext password.

On Linux systems, Active Directory credentials can be accessed through caches maintained by software like System Security Services Daemon (SSSD) or Quest Authentication Services (formerly VAS). Cached credential hashes are typically located at /var/lib/sss/db/cache.[domain].ldb for SSSD or /var/opt/quest/vas/authcache/vas_auth.vdb for Quest. Adversaries can use utilities, such as tdbdump, on these database files to dump the cached hashes and use Password Cracking to obtain the plaintext password.

With SYSTEM or sudo access, the tools/utilities such as Mimikatz, Reg, and secretsdump.py for Windows or Linikatz for Linux can be used to extract the cached credentials.

Note: Cached credentials for Windows Vista are derived using PBKDF2.

Kill Chain Phase

• Credential Access (TA0006)

Platforms: Windows, Linux

What to Check

• Identify if Cached Domain Credentials technique is applicable to target environment
• Check Windows systems for indicators of Cached Domain Credentials
• Check Linux systems for indicators of Cached Domain Credentials
• Verify mitigations are bypassed or absent (5 known mitigations)
• Assess detection coverage (1 detection strategies)

How to Test

Atomic Red Team Tests

The following tests are from Atomic Red Team and provide actionable ways to test this technique:

Atomic Test 1: Cached Credential Dump via Cmdkey

List credentials currently stored on the host via the built-in Windows utility cmdkey.exe Credentials listed with Cmdkey only pertain to the current user Passwords will not be displayed once they are stored