T1003.005sub-technique of T1003 OS Credential Dumping
Cached Domain Credentials
Windows · Linuxnothing on this site yetT1003.005 on attack.mitre.org
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable. On Windows Vista and newer, the hash format is DCC2 (Domain Cached Credentials version 2) hash, also known as MS-Cache v2 hash. The number of default cached credentials varies and can be altered per system.
If this is happening now
Checklists and playbooks to open while the alert is still live.
Playbook for this stage
Cloud account compromise
Impossible travel, an unrecognised inbox rule, or a reported invoice-fraud attempt.
how MITRE says to see it
Detection of Cached Domain Credential Dumping via Local Hash Cache Access
- Detects adversary behavior accessing Windows cached domain credential files using tools like Mimikatz, reg.exe, or PowerShell, often combined with registry exports or LSASS memory scraping.
- Detects access to SSSD or Quest VAS cached credential databases using tdbdump or other file access patterns, requiring sudo/root access.
what reduces it
- M1017 User Training. Limit credential overlap across accounts and systems by training users and administrators not to use the same password for multiple accounts.
- M1028 Operating System Configuration. Consider limiting the number of cached credentials (HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\Winlogon\cachedlogonscountvalue)
- M1027 Password Policies. Ensure that local administrator accounts have complex, unique passwords across all systems on the network.
- M1026 Privileged Account Management. Do not put user or admin domain accounts in the local administrator groups across systems unless they are tightly controlled, as this is often equivalent to having a local administrator account with the same password on all systems. Follow best practices for design and administration of an enterprise network to limit privileged account use across administrative tiers.
- M1015 Active Directory Configuration. Consider adding users to the "Protected Users" Active Directory security group. This can help limit the caching of users' plaintext credentials.