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Mimikatz is a powerful tool that is commonly used by penetration testers and red teamers to extract sensitive information from a Windows machine. It is capable of extracting plaintext passwords, hash, PIN code, and kerberos tickets from memory, as well as performing pass-the-hash, pass-the-ticket, and build Golden tickets attacks.
One of the most powerful features of Mimikatz is its ability to extract plaintext passwords from memory. It does this by searching for and extracting the LSASS process, which is a Windows service that is responsible for handling authentication requests. Once Mimikatz has access to the LSASS process, it can use a variety of techniques to extract the plaintext passwords that are stored in memory.
Another powerful feature of Mimikatz is its ability to perform pass-the-hash and pass-the-ticket attacks. Pass-the-hash is a technique that allows an attacker to authenticate to a remote machine using a hash of the password, rather than the plaintext password. This is possible because Windows systems store password hashes in memory, and Mimikatz can extract these hashes and use them to authenticate to other systems. Pass-the-ticket, on the other hand, is a technique that allows an attacker to use a Kerberos ticket to authenticate to a remote machine, without needing to know the plaintext password.
Mimikatz also has a feature to "Golden Ticket" which is an attack that allows an attacker to create a Kerberos ticket with arbitrary properties, such as a high level of privilege. This is possible because Mimikatz can extract the Kerberos service account password from memory, and use it to create a Golden Ticket. Once the attacker has a Golden Ticket, they can use it to authenticate to any domain-joined machine and have full control over the machine.
Mimikatz is a powerful tool, but it can also be a double-edged sword. It can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes, and it's important to use it responsibly. As a pentester, you should only use Mimikatz in scope of a penetration test and with explicit permissions from the target organization.As a defender, you can use Mimikatz to test your own systems and identify vulnerabilities, and also can use it to hunt for malicious actors that have already breached your network and exfiltrated sensitive information.
It is worth to mention that, Mimikatz is widely known and widely used by both, attackers and defenders. This has led to many anti-virus and endpoint protection software flagging it as malware and blocking it. Additionally, Microsoft released updates to detect and block mimikatz. Therefore, it is essential to use it with care and make sure that your target system doesn't have endpoint protection software.
In conclusion, Mimikatz is a powerful tool that can be used to extract sensitive information from a Windows machine, including plaintext passwords, hash, PIN code, and kerberos tickets. However, it should be used responsibly and within the scope of a penetration test or incident response engagement. It also important to take into consideration the endpoint security solutions that may detect and block its execution.
