Detect Password Cracking in Elastic Security
Adversaries may use password cracking to attempt to recover usable credentials, such as plaintext passwords, when credential material such as password hashes are obtained. OS Credential Dumping can be used to obtain password hashes, which may then be cracked offline on adversary-controlled systems. Techniques include dictionary attacks, brute force, and rainbow table lookups. Tools like Hashcat, John the Ripper, and Hydra are commonly used. Groups such as APT3, FIN6, Dragonfly, and Salt Typhoon have all leveraged password cracking in their operations.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Credential Access
- Technique
- T1110 Brute Force
- Sub-technique
- T1110.002 Password Cracking
- Canonical reference
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1110/002/
Elastic Detection Query
process where event.type == "start" and (
process.name in~ ("hashcat", "hashcat.bin", "hashcat.exe", "john", "john.exe", "hydra", "hydra.exe", "thc-hydra", "crackmapexec", "ophcrack", "ophcrack.exe", "l0phtcrack", "pwdump", "fgdump", "mimikatz.exe", "ntdsutil.exe", "secretsdump.py")
or process.args : ("--attack-mode", "-a 0", "-a 3", "-a 6", "-a 7", "--hash-type", "-m 1000", "-m 5600", "-m 13100", "--wordlist", "rockyou.txt", "--rules", "--show", "--format=NT", "--format=LM", "ntlm", "--pot-file", "-hash-file", "hashes.txt", "ntds.dit")
)Detects execution of known password cracking tools (Hashcat, John the Ripper, Hydra, Mimikatz, etc.) or command-line arguments associated with offline and online password cracking activity, including NTLM hash cracking modes, wordlist attacks, and credential dumping utilities.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Security researchers or penetration testers running authorized red team engagements on dedicated assessment workstations
- IT administrators using CrackMapExec or Mimikatz as part of scheduled credential audit tooling in lab or staging environments
- CTF (Capture the Flag) participants running Hashcat or John the Ripper on personal competition systems that feed into a SIEM
Other platforms for T1110.002
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 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 1Hashcat NTLM Hash Cracking Simulation
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with Image=hashcat.exe, CommandLine containing '-m 1000', '-a 0', 'test_hashes.txt', and '--potfile-path'. Sysmon Event ID 11: File creation events for test_hashes.txt, test_wordlist.txt, and test.potfile. Security Event ID 4688 (if command line auditing enabled) with same details.
- Test 2John the Ripper Password Hash Cracking
Expected signal: Linux auditd execve syscall events showing john binary execution with --wordlist, --format=sha512crypt arguments and /tmp/test_shadow.txt file path. Syslog entries from auditd showing process creation. ~/.john/john.pot created on successful crack.
- Test 3CrackMapExec with Credential Spraying Post-Crack
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with Image=crackmapexec.exe or cme.exe, CommandLine containing 'smb', '-u testuser', '-p'. Sysmon Event ID 3: Network Connection to 127.0.0.1:445. Security Event ID 4625 (failed logon) or 4624 (successful logon) for the test authentication attempt against localhost.
- Test 4NTDS.dit Extraction via NTDSUtil IFM
Expected signal: Sysmon Event ID 1: Process Create with Image=ntdsutil.exe, CommandLine containing 'ac i ntds', 'ifm', 'create full'. Sysmon Event ID 11: Multiple file creation events under the output directory including ntds.dit and SYSTEM hive. Security Event ID 4688 for ntdsutil.exe with command line. Security Event ID 4663 for ntds.dit file access on the domain controller.
References (10)
- https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1110/002/
- https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA18-106A
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_cracking
- https://hashcat.net/wiki/doku.php?id=hashcat
- https://www.openwall.com/john/
- https://github.com/byt3bl33d3r/CrackMapExec
- https://github.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/blob/master/atomics/T1110.002/T1110.002.md
- https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2016/04/fin6-cybercrime-gang.html
- https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa18-074a
- https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/tree/master/rules/windows/process_creation
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