Detection rules › Elastic
Potential Shadow Credentials added to AD Object
Identify the modification of the msDS-KeyCredentialLink attribute in an Active Directory Computer or User Object. Attackers can abuse control over the object and create a key pair, append to raw public key in the attribute, and obtain persistent and stealthy access to the target user or computer object.
MITRE ATT&CK coverage
| Tactic | Techniques |
|---|---|
| Persistence | T1098 Account Manipulation, T1556 Modify Authentication Process |
| Privilege Escalation | T1098 Account Manipulation |
| Defense Evasion | T1556 Modify Authentication Process |
| Credential Access | T1556 Modify Authentication Process |
Event coverage
| Provider | Event ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Security-Auditing | 5136 | A directory service object was modified. |
Stages and Predicates
Stage 1: kql:query
not winlog.event_data.SubjectUserName:"MSOL_*" and winlog.event_data.AttributeLDAPDisplayName:"msDS-KeyCredentialLink" and winlog.event_data.AttributeValue:"B\\:828*"Exclusions
Top-level NOT(...) conjuncts — predicates this rule actively suppresses.
| Stage | Field | Kind | Excluded values |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | user | starts_with | MSOL_ |
Indicators
Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.
| Field | Kind | Values |
|---|---|---|
winlog.event_data.AttributeLDAPDisplayName | eq |
|
winlog.event_data.AttributeValue | wildcard |
|
Neighbors
Broader alternatives (more inclusive than this rule)
These rules match a superset of what this rule catches. They cover the same events plus more. Use them if you want wider coverage and can absorb more false positives.
- Possible Shadow Credentials Added (drops 2 filters this rule applies)