Windows AD CS Domain Escalation

👉 Overview

👀 What ?

Windows AD CS Domain Escalation is a method used by attackers to escalate their privileges within a Windows Active Directory (AD) environment using the Certificate Services (CS) component. It involves exploiting the inherent trust relationships within an AD environment to gain unauthorized access or perform unauthorized activities.

🧐 Why ?

Understanding Windows AD CS Domain Escalation is crucial for cybersecurity professionals, as it is a common attack vector in AD environments. This understanding helps in the development of effective security measures and in the timely detection and mitigation of potential attacks.

⛏️ How ?

Implementing a least privilege policy, regular monitoring of AD environments, and proper configuration of access controls can help prevent Windows AD CS Domain Escalation. Additionally, routine security audits and penetration testing can help identify potential vulnerabilities and security gaps.

⏳ When ?

The concept of Windows AD CS Domain Escalation has been in use since the advent of Windows Server 2003, which introduced the AD CS component.

⚙️ Technical Explanations

At a technical level, Windows AD CS Domain Escalation involves the misuse of the AD CS component, which is responsible for creating, validating, and revoking public key certificates. Attackers typically begin by compromising a low-privileged account within the AD environment. From there, they exploit the trust relationships between different AD components and services to gradually escalate their privileges. This is achieved through a series of steps, including certificate request manipulation, certificate template modification, and the misuse of AD CS's auto-enrollment feature.