

(Hashing is a one-way algorithm that mathematically transforms a given password into a different string. That password hash is shared among all the DCs in the Active Directory domain so that they can read the TGTs they receive as users request access to various resources. Importantly, before sending a TGT, the KDC encrypts it using the password hash for a special account, the KRBTGT account. When the user needs access to resources, they don’t have to re-authenticate their client machine simply sends the TGT along to prove that the user has already been recently authenticated. Specifically, when a user authenticates, the KDC issues a ticket granting ticket (TGT), which includes a unique session key and a timestamp that specifies how long that session is valid (normally 8 or 10 hours). Every domain controller in an Active Directory domain runs a KDC service. Instead, the Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) functions as a trusted third-party authentication service. With Kerberos, users never directly authenticate themselves to the various services they need to use, such as file servers. How Kerberos authentication normally works
#Golden ticket maquette windows#
Golden Ticket attacks take advantage of a vulnerability in the Kerberos authentication protocol, which Microsoft has been using as its default authentication protocol ever since Windows 2000. Let’s see how this powerful attack unfolds - and what you can do to defend your organization. They can impersonate anyone and do just about anything. However, the analogy breaks down in one important way: While Charlie and the other children with golden tickets were (mostly) escorted around the candy factory under close supervision, a successful Golden Ticket attack gives the hacker nearly unfettered access to everything in your domain, including all computers, files, folders and domain controllers (DCs). Similarly, a successful Golden Ticket attack gives the hacker access to an organization’s entire Active Directory domain. The moniker comes from Roald Dahl’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where a golden ticket is the highly coveted pass that gets its owner into Willy Wonka’s tightly guarded candy factory. “Golden Ticket attack” is a particularly colorful (if you’ll pardon the pun) name for a particularly dangerous attack.
