Category: Technical Reference

Interesting KRBTGT Password Reset Behavior

Following up on Twitter conversations (@passingthehash, @scriptjunkie1, gentilkiwi, etc) on the new KRBTGT Password Reset Script and Skip Duckwall’s (@passingthehash) blog post on how KRBTGT password changes work. Microsoft KB2549833 states that the KRBTGT password is set automatically to a random string when a new password is entered. This occurs because there is special logic …

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MS15-011 & MS15-014: Microsoft Active Directory Group Policy (GPO) Vulnerabilities Patched

On February’s Patch Tuesday (2/11/2015), Microsoft released two patches that fix issues with the way Group Policy is processed by the client. Interestingly enough, one of these vulnerabilities (MS15-014) makes the other one (MS15-011) not only feasible, but quite capable. The Attack Scenario: An attacker leverages the vulnerability described in MS15-014 to prevent/stop Group Policy …

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Configuring Two-Factor Authentication for Web (Cloud) Services

Don’t want your web (cloud) account password to get hacked? Enable Two-Factor Authentication (aka two-step verification)! Google Account: Visit this site and follow the instructions to configure your cell phone as a second factor Step 1:  You’ll enter your password Whenever you sign in to Google, you’ll enter your password as usual. Step 2:  You’ll …

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Enabling Windows 8 Hyper-V for a Portable Lab

Installing Hyper-V: Requirement: Windows 8 Pro or Windows 8 Enterprise which include Client Hyper-V. Requirement: Your computer processor must support virtualization technology (VT), though most processors in the past 5 years support VT (pretty much all Intel i-series processors, i3, i5, i7). Enable virtualization technology (VT) on your computer’s processor by editing the BIOS settings …

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Group Policy Settings Reference for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2

  These spreadsheets list the policy settings for computer and user configurations that are included in the Administrative template files delivered with the Windows operating systems specified. You can configure these policy settings when you edit Group Policy Objects. The Group Policy Settings reference for Windows & Windows Server can be downloaded here. Here are …

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Attackers Can Now Use Mimikatz to Implant Skeleton Key on Domain Controllers & BackDoor Your Active Directory Forest

Once an attacker has gained Domain Admin rights to your Active Directory environment, there are several methods for keeping privileged access. Skeleton Key is an ideal persistence method for the modern attacker. More information on Skeleton Key is in my earlier post. Note that the behavior documented in this post was observed in a lab …

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Windows Server 2012 & Windows Server 2012 R2 Complete Documentation

Microsoft took all the Windows Server 2012 (& 2012 R2) documentation and posted it as a single PDF! Version: 1.0 File Name:  WS12_R2_and_WS12_TechNet.pdf Date Published: 2/18/2014 File Size: 125.9 MB This download is an Adobe® PDF of the entire contents of the Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012 section of the Microsoft TechNet …

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Thunderstrike: EFI bootkits for Apple MacBooks via Thunderbolt & Option ROMs

Trammell Hudson (@qrs) developed the Thunderstrike exploit based on inherent security issues with the way Apple validates, updates, and boots from the boot ROM. The exploit takes advantage of the fact that Apple allows secure booting without hardware (software checks the ROM, but doesn’t perform a checksum!). Since the Thunderbolt port provides a way to …

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Interesting Windows Computer & Active Directory Well-Known Security Identifiers (SIDs)

The Microsoft Knowledge Base article KB243330 lists the well-known security identifiers in Windows operating systems  Listed here are the more interesting ones from the article as well as some additional ones. Local Computer SIDs SID: S-1-5-2 Name: Network Description: A group that includes all users that have logged on through a network connection. Membership is …

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Detecting MS14-068 Kerberos Exploit Packets on the Wire aka How the PyKEK Exploit Works

MS14-068 References: AD Kerberos Privilege Elevation Vulnerability: The Issue Detailed Explanation of MS14-068 MS14-068 Exploit POC with the Python Kerberos Exploitation Kit (aka PyKEK) Exploiting MS14-068 Vulnerable Domain Controllers Successfully with the Python Kerberos Exploitation Kit (PyKEK) This post shows the packet captures I performed using WireShark on the Domain Controllers during stage 1 and …

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