Active Directory Security , The Real-World Field Manual¶

Forget the textbooks , Active Directory is the digital kingdom every pentester dreams of conquering and every blue teamer dies protecting

It's the keys to everything , users , computers , permissions , secrets , you name it If you own AD , you own the entire organization

This section is your tactical guide for the AD battlefield , whether you're here to pop shells or to build fortresses that can withstand a siege

No fluff , just the raw techniques and hard-won knowledge that work in the real world

Intel Briefing¶

Each guide in this section is a weapon in your arsenal , you need to pick the right one for the job at hand

• Enumeration: This is your reconnaissance manual It teaches you how to map the entire kingdom , finding every user , group , computer , and trust relationship before you fire a single shot
• Kerberos: This is the deep dive on the protocol that runs the whole show We'll dissect how it works , how to break it with attacks like Kerberoasting and Golden Tickets , and how to defend it
• NTLM: This is the ghost in the machine , a legacy protocol that just won't die and creates a ton of security holes We'll cover how to abuse it with relay attacks and pass-the-hash
• Misconfigurations: This is your guide to the low-hanging fruit These are the common mistakes admins make that give attackers an easy win
• Best Practices: This is the blueprint for building a fortress It's how you actually lock this stuff down , moving beyond the useless compliance checklists

Mission Navigation¶

• AD Enumeration , Master the art of information gathering before you strike
• Kerberos Authentication , A deep dive into the protocol's guts , its attacks , and its defenses
• NTLM Authentication , Learn to abuse this legacy protocol that's probably still running on your network
• Common Misconfigurations , Find and fix the security holes before an attacker does
• AD Security Best Practices , A no-nonsense guide to hardening your domain

Where to Start Your Operation¶

If You're New to AD Security , start with Enumeration You can't attack what you can't see

If You're Focused on Authentication Attacks , you need to master both Kerberos and NTLM Most roads to domain admin are paved with broken authentication protocols

If You're Hardening an Environment , begin with Common Misconfigurations to find the immediate threats , then use the Security Best Practices guide to build a long-term , resilient defense

This isn't a collection of disconnected topics , it's a complete system You need to understand the whole picture to be effective in the field Let's get to work