RODC compromise → cracked NT hashes of revealed accounts
A Read-Only Domain Controller stores password material only for principals on its msDS-RevealedList. Compromising the RODC + cracking those hashes gives you the corresponding users.
§ Context
Assumed environment: RODC is deployed at a branch site with weaker physical/network controls. The msDS-RevealedDSAs and msDS-RevealedList attributes name the cached principals.
§ Steps
- 01Authenticate as a revealed userInitial AccessT1078— Valid Accounts
- 02Offline crack of revealed account hashesCredential AccessT1110— Brute Force
- 03BloodHound for path to DADiscoveryAD-BLOODHOUND— BloodHound / SharpHound Enumeration
- 04Extract local NTDS (just-the-revealed scope)Credential AccessT1003.003— NTDS
- 05Compromise RODC (local admin / physical)Privilege EscalationAD-RODC— RODC Compromise
- 06Enumerate revealed accountsDiscoveryAD-RODC-MEMBERS— RODC Revealed Accounts Enumeration
LDAP query: msDS-RevealedList on the RODC computer object.
§ References
- T1078Valid Accounts
- T1110Brute Force
- T1003.003NTDS
§ Frequently asked
- What is the "RODC compromise → cracked NT hashes of revealed accounts" attack path?
- A Read-Only Domain Controller stores password material only for principals on its msDS-RevealedList. Compromising the RODC + cracking those hashes gives you the corresponding users. It chains 6 steps drawn from real-world offensive-security techniques.
- What starting position does this attack require?
- The first step is Authenticate as a revealed user (T1078) — a initial access primitive. Assumed environment: RODC is deployed at a branch site with weaker physical/network controls.
- What is the final impact of this kill-chain?
- The final step lands on Enumerate revealed accounts (AD-RODC-MEMBERS), which falls under Discovery. From here, an operator typically pivots into post-exploitation or maintains persistence.
- How can defenders detect or prevent this attack?
- Detection and prevention vary per step. Refer to each linked MITRE ATT&CK entry under "References" — every technique on that page lists defensive controls, detection telemetry, and known threat-actor usage.
§ Related dossiers
- Shared techniques2
Dev workstation → cloud backup keys → encrypted vault store (LastPass 2022)
Attacker compromised a single LastPass DevOps engineer's home machine via outdated Plex Media Server, harvested AWS keys for the encrypted-vault backup bucket, exfiltrated production vault data.
- Shared techniques2
Leaked legacy VPN credential → ransomware (Colonial-class)
A dormant VPN account whose password appeared in a third-party breach is still active, has no MFA enforced. Sign in, recon AD, deploy ransomware across the estate.
- Shared techniques2
Citrix Bleed → steal authenticated session → MFA bypass
Send a long Host header to a vulnerable NetScaler — memory disclosure leaks an authenticated session token already past MFA. Replay the token to log into the corporate VPN.
- Shared techniques2
PMKID attack → offline crack with no client interaction
WPA2 PMKID can be extracted from a single association attempt with the AP — no client needed. hcxdumptool + hashcat -m 22000 yields the PSK if it's weak.
- Shared techniques2
WPA2-PSK handshake capture + crack → LAN access
Deauth a connected client to force re-association, capture the 4-way handshake with airodump-ng, crack the PSK offline with hashcat.
- Shared techniques2
Rogue DHCP → DNS poisoning → MITM
Bring up a faster DHCP server on the segment; new clients get attacker as gateway + DNS — strip HTTPS, capture creds, inject payloads.