Detect LSA Secrets in Microsoft Sentinel
Adversaries with SYSTEM access dump LSA secrets from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SECURITY\Policy\Secrets, which contain service account credentials, auto-logon passwords, IIS application pool credentials, scheduled task credentials, and VPN/dial-up credentials. Tools include Mimikatz (lsadump::secrets), Impacket secretsdump.py, gsecdump, LaZagne, and reg.exe to export HKLM\SECURITY. Used by MuddyWater, APT33, APT29, OilRig, Ember Bear, Leafminer, and many others. Service account credentials from LSA secrets enable lateral movement to the services those accounts manage.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Credential Access
- Technique
- T1003 OS Credential Dumping
- Sub-technique
- T1003.004 LSA Secrets
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1003/004/
KQL Detection Query
let LSARegistryAccess = DeviceRegistryEvents
| where Timestamp > ago(24h)
| where RegistryKey has @"SECURITY\Policy\Secrets"
or (RegistryKey has @"HKLM\SECURITY" and RegistryKey has "Policy")
| where InitiatingProcessFileName !in~ ("lsass.exe", "svchost.exe", "services.exe")
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, AccountName, ActionType, RegistryKey,
InitiatingProcessFileName, InitiatingProcessCommandLine;
let LSADumpCommands = DeviceProcessEvents
| where Timestamp > ago(24h)
| where ProcessCommandLine has_any (
"lsadump::secrets", "lsadump::cache",
"secretsdump", "lsa_secrets", "LSAsecret"
)
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, AccountName, FileName, ProcessCommandLine;
let RegExportSecurity = DeviceProcessEvents
| where Timestamp > ago(24h)
| where FileName =~ "reg.exe"
| where ProcessCommandLine has "save" and ProcessCommandLine has_any ("hklm\\security", "security")
and not (ProcessCommandLine has "hklm\\system")
| project Timestamp, DeviceName, AccountName, FileName, ProcessCommandLine;
union LSARegistryAccess, LSADumpCommands, RegExportSecurity
| sort by Timestamp descDetects LSA secrets extraction via registry access to HKLM\SECURITY\Policy\Secrets by non-system processes, Mimikatz lsadump::secrets commands, and reg.exe exporting the SECURITY hive. LSA secrets contain plaintext service account passwords and other sensitive credential material.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Security scanning tools or EDR products performing credential audit checks on HKLM\SECURITY
- IT administrators running authorized credential audit scripts to inventory service account usage
- Incident response tools collecting system state information including LSA secrets
- Backup software with SYSTEM privileges reading SECURITY hive as part of system state backup
Other platforms for T1003.004
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Export SECURITY Registry Hive
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create for reg.exe with CommandLine 'save HKLM\SECURITY'. Sysmon Event ID 11: FileCreate for atomic_security.hiv. Sysmon Event ID 12/13: Registry access to HKLM\SECURITY by reg.exe.
- Test 2Mimikatz LSA Secrets Dump Command
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create for mimikatz.exe with 'lsadump::secrets' in CommandLine. Sysmon Event ID 12/13: Registry access to SECURITY\Policy\Secrets if Mimikatz reads from registry. Security Event ID 4688 for mimikatz.exe process creation.
- Test 3LaZagne Credential Dump (LSA Secrets Module)
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create for lazagne.exe with '-lsa' parameter. Sysmon Event ID 10: ProcessAccess targeting lsass.exe if LaZagne attempts in-memory extraction. Security Event ID 4688 for lazagne.exe. Windows Defender may flag as HackTool.
References (5)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1003/004/
- https://www.passcape.com/index.php?section=docsys&cmd=details&id=23
- https://ired.team/offensive-security/credential-access-and-credential-dumping/dumping-lsa-secrets
- https://www.first.org/resources/papers/conf2017/Windows-Credentials-Attacks-and-Mitigation-Techniques.pdf
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1003.004/T1003.004.md
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