S0002: Mimikatz
Analyst context for executives and security teams
Mimikatz matters because it turns a Windows compromise into an identity compromise. ATT&CK describes it as a credential dumper capable of obtaining plaintext Windows account logins and passwords, and the relationship set shows it has been used across many named campaigns and groups. For leaders, the practical issue is not the tool alone; it is whether Windows credentials, privileged accounts, and lateral movement paths are protected well enough that one endpoint incident does not become an enterprise-wide access problem.
Executive priority
Prioritize Mimikatz-related readiness as an identity resilience and incident-response decision point. Executives should ask whether the organization can prove where Windows credentials are exposed, how privileged account use is limited, and whether SOC and IR teams can rapidly identify and contain credential dumping activity. The broad ATT&CK relationship context, including espionage, ransomware, supply chain, government, critical infrastructure, and safety-system-adjacent campaigns, makes this a control-validation priority for business continuity, audit evidence, and crisis response planning.
Technical view
The supplied ATT&CK object identifies Mimikatz as a Windows tool for dumping credentials, but provides no official detection logic or tactics. SOC and detection teams should therefore validate coverage around Windows credential access behaviors, suspicious credential-dumping tool presence, execution of known Mimikatz-related binaries or command patterns where locally available, abnormal access to credential material, and post-compromise use of harvested accounts. IR teams should treat confirmed Mimikatz presence as a trigger to investigate credential exposure scope, privileged account use, lateral movement, and password/session/token remediation requirements.
Likely telemetry
- Windows endpoint process execution and command-line telemetry
- Endpoint security alerts for credential dumping or known Mimikatz tooling
- Windows security logs related to logon activity, privileged account use, and authentication anomalies
- File creation, module load, and memory-access telemetry from protected Windows systems where available
- Identity provider, domain controller, and authentication logs for downstream use of potentially stolen credentials
Detection direction
- Do not rely only on tool-name or hash detection; Mimikatz is publicly available and may be renamed or modified.
- Validate whether endpoint telemetry captures process execution, command lines, credential-store access indicators, and suspicious privileged activity on Windows systems.
- Correlate suspected credential dumping with subsequent authentication from unusual hosts, new administrative access, or lateral movement patterns.
- Tune detections against legitimate security testing activity, since the official description notes Mimikatz is also useful for testing network security.
- Use the relationship context to test detections against realistic intrusion scenarios where credential dumping follows initial compromise and precedes broader access.
Mitigation priorities
- Reduce credential exposure on Windows systems by hardening privileged access and limiting where high-value accounts can log on.
- Enforce least privilege and separate administrative accounts from routine user activity.
- Prepare incident playbooks that include credential invalidation, password resets, session/token review, and privileged account containment after confirmed credential dumping.
- Use managed detection or internal SOC validation to confirm that Windows endpoint and identity telemetry is collected, retained, and correlated.
- Include Mimikatz-style credential dumping in tabletop exercises and control testing because ATT&CK links this tool to numerous campaigns and groups.
Analyst notes and limits
ATT&CK does not provide official detection text for this object and does not specify tactics in the supplied fields. The strongest decision value comes from the tool description, the Windows platform designation, and the extensive relationship context showing use by multiple campaigns and groups, including Operation Wocao, C0017, AvosLocker-related C0018, SolarWinds Compromise, Triton-related campaigns, HomeLand Justice, SharePoint ToolShell Exploitation, Operation Digital Eye, and many named threat groups.
This take is limited to the supplied ATT&CK fields, external references, and relationships. It does not assert current exploitation, customer exposure, specific detection coverage, or detailed procedure-level behavior beyond the official description. Local validation is required to determine actual telemetry availability, compensating controls, and credential exposure risk.
Mimikatz
How security teams should use this page
Treat this object as behavior context, not an attribution claim. Validate the related groups, software, data sources, and mitigations against official ATT&CK relationships and your own telemetry before making control-coverage decisions.
Techniques used
This mirrors the MITRE pattern of making group, software, campaign, and technique relationships scannable. Relationship notes come from mirrored ATT&CK relationship text when available.
| Domain | ID | Name | Relationship / procedure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | T1003.006 | DCSync Sub-technique | Mimikatz performs credential dumping to obtain account and password information useful in gaining access to additional systems and enterprise network resources. It contains functionality to acquire information about credentials in many ways, including from DCSync/NetSync.CitationDeply MimikatzCitationGitHub Mimikatz lsadump ModuleCitationDirectory Services Internals DPAPI Backup Keys Oct 2015CitationNCSC Joint Report Public ToolsCitationCobalt Strike Manual 4.3 November 2020 |
| Enterprise | T1555 | Credentials from Password Stores | Mimikatz performs credential dumping to obtain account and password information useful in gaining access to additional systems and enterprise network resources. It contains functionality to acquire information about credentials in many ways, including from the credential vault and DPAPI.CitationDeply MimikatzCitationGitHub Mimikatz lsadump ModuleCitationDirectory Services Internals DPAPI Backup Keys Oct 2015CitationNCSC Joint Report Public ToolsCitationCobalt Strike Manual 4.3 November 2020 |
| Enterprise | T1207 | Rogue Domain Controller | Mimikatz’s |
| Enterprise | T1552.004 | Private Keys Sub-technique | Mimikatz's |
| Enterprise | T1134.005 | SID-History Injection Sub-technique | Mimikatz's |
| Enterprise | T1547.005 | Security Support Provider Sub-technique | The Mimikatz credential dumper contains an implementation of an SSP.CitationDeply Mimikatz |
| Enterprise | T1550.002 | Pass the Hash Sub-technique | Mimikatz's |
| Enterprise | T1098 | Account Manipulation | The Mimikatz credential dumper has been extended to include Skeleton Key domain controller authentication bypass functionality. The |
| Enterprise | T1550.003 | Pass the Ticket Sub-technique | Mimikatz’s |
| Enterprise | T1555.003 | Credentials from Web Browsers Sub-technique | Mimikatz performs credential dumping to obtain account and password information useful in gaining access to additional systems and enterprise network resources. It contains functionality to acquire information about credentials in many ways, including from DPAPI.CitationDeply MimikatzCitationGitHub Mimikatz lsadump ModuleCitationDirectory Services Internals DPAPI Backup Keys Oct 2015CitationNCSC Joint Report Public Tools |
| Enterprise | T1558.001 | Golden Ticket Sub-technique | Mimikatz's kerberos module can create golden tickets.CitationGitHub Mimikatz kerberos ModuleCitationCobalt Strike Manual 4.3 November 2020 |
| Enterprise | T1003.002 | Security Account Manager Sub-technique | Mimikatz performs credential dumping to obtain account and password information useful in gaining access to additional systems and enterprise network resources. It contains functionality to acquire information about credentials in many ways, including from the SAM table.CitationDeply MimikatzCitationGitHub Mimikatz lsadump ModuleCitationDirectory Services Internals DPAPI Backup Keys Oct 2015CitationNCSC Joint Report Public Tools |
| Enterprise | T1003.001 | LSASS Memory Sub-technique | Mimikatz performs credential dumping to obtain account and password information useful in gaining access to additional systems and enterprise network resources. It contains functionality to acquire information about credentials in many ways, including from the LSASS Memory.CitationDeply MimikatzCitationGitHub Mimikatz lsadump ModuleCitationDirectory Services Internals DPAPI Backup Keys Oct 2015CitationNCSC Joint Report Public Tools |
| Enterprise | T1558.002 | Silver Ticket Sub-technique | Mimikatz's kerberos module can create silver tickets.CitationGitHub Mimikatz kerberos Module |
| Enterprise | T1555.004 | Windows Credential Manager Sub-technique | Mimikatz contains functionality to acquire credentials from the Windows Credential Manager.CitationDelpy Mimikatz Crendential Manager |
| Enterprise | T1649 | Steal or Forge Authentication Certificates | Mimikatz's `CRYPTO` module can create and export various types of authentication certificates.CitationAdsecurity Mimikatz Guide |
| Enterprise | T1003.004 | LSA Secrets Sub-technique | Mimikatz performs credential dumping to obtain account and password information useful in gaining access to additional systems and enterprise network resources. It contains functionality to acquire information about credentials in many ways, including from the LSA.CitationDeply MimikatzCitationGitHub Mimikatz lsadump ModuleCitationDirectory Services Internals DPAPI Backup Keys Oct 2015CitationNCSC Joint Report Public Tools |
Groups, software, and campaigns
G0050: APT32
APT32 is a suspected Vietnam-based threat group that has been active since at least 2014. The group has targeted multiple private sector industries as well as foreign governments, dissidents, and journalists with a strong focus on Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos, and Cambodia. They have extensively used strategic web compromises to compromise victims.[1][2][3]
G0016: APT29
APT29 is threat group that has been attributed to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).[1][2] They have operated since at least 2008, often targeting government networks in Europe and NATO member countries, research institutes, and think tanks. APT29 reportedly compromised the Democratic National Committee starting in the summer of 2015.[3][4][5][6]
In April 2021, the US and UK governments attributed the SolarWinds Compromise to the SVR; public statements included citations to APT29, Cozy Bear, and The Dukes.[7][8] Industry reporting also referred to the actors involved in this campaign as UNC2452, NOBELIUM, StellarParticle, Dark Halo, and SolarStorm.[9][10][11][12][13][14]
G1006: Earth Lusca
Earth Lusca is a suspected China-based cyber espionage group that has been active since at least April 2019. Earth Lusca has targeted organizations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Germany, France, and the United States. Targets included government institutions, news media outlets, gambling companies, educational institutions, COVID-19 research organizations, telecommunications companies, religious movements banned in China, and cryptocurrency trading platforms; security researchers assess some Earth Lusca operations may be financially motivated.[1]
Earth Lusca has used malware commonly used by other Chinese threat groups, including APT41 and the Winnti Group cluster, however security researchers assess Earth Lusca's techniques and infrastructure are separate.[1]
G0046: FIN7
FIN7 is a financially-motivated threat group that has been active since 2013. FIN7 has targeted the retail, restaurant, hospitality, software, consulting, financial services, medical equipment, cloud services, media, food and beverage, transportation, pharmaceutical, and utilities industries in the United States. A portion of FIN7 was operated out of a front company called Combi Security and often used point-of-sale malware for targeting efforts. Since 2020, FIN7 shifted operations to big game hunting (BGH), including use of REvil ransomware and their own Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), Darkside. FIN7 may be linked to the Carbanak Group, but multiple threat groups have been observed using Carbanak, leading these groups to be tracked separately.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
G0079: DarkHydrus
DarkHydrus is a threat group that has targeted government agencies and educational institutions in the Middle East since at least 2016. The group heavily leverages open-source tools and custom payloads for carrying out attacks. [1] [2]
G0092: TA505
G1030: Agrius
G0060: BRONZE BUTLER
BRONZE BUTLER is a cyber espionage group with likely Chinese origins that has been active since at least 2008. The group primarily targets Japanese organizations, particularly those in government, biotechnology, electronics manufacturing, and industrial chemistry.[1][2][3]
G0034: Sandworm Team
Sandworm Team is a destructive threat group that has been attributed to Russia's General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) Main Center for Special Technologies (GTsST) military unit 74455.[1][2] This group has been active since at least 2009.[3][4][5][6]
In October 2020, the US indicted six GRU Unit 74455 officers associated with Sandworm Team for the following cyber operations: the 2015 and 2016 attacks against Ukrainian electrical companies and government organizations, the 2017 worldwide NotPetya attack, targeting of the 2017 French presidential campaign, the 2018 Olympic Destroyer attack against the Winter Olympic Games, the 2018 operation against the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and attacks against the country of Georgia in 2018 and 2019.[1][2] Some of these were conducted with the assistance of GRU Unit 26165, which is also referred to as APT28.[7]
G0064: APT33
G1024: Akira
Akira is a ransomware variant and ransomware deployment entity active since at least March 2023.[1] Akira uses compromised credentials to access single-factor external access mechanisms such as VPNs for initial access, then various publicly-available tools and techniques for lateral movement.[1][2] Akira operations are associated with "double extortion" ransomware activity, where data is exfiltrated from victim environments prior to encryption, with threats to publish files if a ransom is not paid. Technical analysis of Akira ransomware indicates variants capable of targeting Windows or VMWare ESXi hypervisors and multiple overlaps with Conti ransomware.[3][4][5]
G0131: Tonto Team
Tonto Team is a suspected Chinese state-sponsored cyber espionage threat group that has primarily targeted South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States since at least 2009; by 2020 they expanded operations to include other Asian as well as Eastern European countries. Tonto Team has targeted government, military, energy, mining, financial, education, healthcare, and technology organizations, including through the Heartbeat Campaign (2009-2012) and Operation Bitter Biscuit (2017).[1][2][3][4][5][6]
C0014: Operation Wocao
Operation Wocao was a cyber espionage campaign that targeted organizations around the world, including in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The suspected China-based actors compromised government organizations and managed service providers, as well as aviation, construction, energy, finance, health care, insurance, offshore engineering, software development, and transportation companies.[1]
Security researchers assessed the Operation Wocao actors used similar TTPs and tools as APT20, suggesting a possible overlap. Operation Wocao was named after an observed command line entry by one of the threat actors, possibly out of frustration from losing webshell access.[1]
C0061: Operation Digital Eye
Operation Digital Eye was conducted in June and July of 2024 by suspected People's Republic of China (PRC)-nexus threat actors targeting business-to-business IT service providers in Southern Europe. Operation Digital Eye activity included the use of Visual Studio Code tunnels for command and control (C2) and custom lateral movement capabilities. Overlaps in tooling between Digital Eye and previous China-nexus campaigns, Operation Soft Cell and Operation Tainted Love, indicate the potential use of shared vendors or digital quartermasters.[1]
C0058: SharePoint ToolShell Exploitation
The SharePoint ToolShell Exploitation campaign was conducted in July 2025 and encompassed the first waves of exploitation against incompletely patched spoofing (CVE-2025-49706) and remote code execution (CVE-2025-49704) vulnerabilities affecting on-premises Microsoft SharePoint servers. Later patched and updated as CVE-2025-53770 and CVE-2025-53771, the ToolShell vulnerabilities were widely exploited including by China-based ransomware actor Storm-2603 and espionage actors Threat Group-3390 and ZIRCONIUM. SharePoint ToolShell Exploitation targeted multiple regions and industries including finance, education, energy, and healthcare across Asia, Europe, and the United States.[1][2][3][4][5]
C0038: HomeLand Justice
HomeLand Justice was a disruptive cyber campaign conducted by Iranian state-affiliated actors against Albanian government networks in July and September 2022. The activity combined ransomware, wiper malware, and data leak operations. Initial access for HomeLand Justice was established as early as May 2021, and threat actors moved laterally, exfiltrated sensitive information, and maintained persistence for approximately 14 months prior to the destructive phase of the operation. Responsibility was claimed by the "HomeLand Justice" front, which framed the campaign as retaliation against the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), an Iranian opposition group with a presence in Albania. Multiple Iran-nexus groups are assessed to have participated in the campaign, including HEXANE who probed victim infrastructure.[1][2][3] A second wave of attacks was launched in September 2022 using similar tactics following public attribution of the previous activity to Iran and the severing of diplomatic ties between Iran and Albania.[3]
C0032: C0032
C0032 was an extended campaign suspected to involve the Triton adversaries with related capabilities and techniques focused on gaining a foothold within IT environments. This campaign occurred in 2019 and was distinctly different from the Triton Safety Instrumented System Attack.[1]
C0018: C0018
C0018 was a month-long ransomware intrusion that successfully deployed AvosLocker onto a compromised network. The unidentified actors gained initial access to the victim network through an exposed server and used a variety of open-source tools prior to executing AvosLocker.[1][2]
C0024: SolarWinds Compromise
The SolarWinds Compromise was a sophisticated supply chain cyber operation conducted by APT29 that was discovered in mid-December 2020. APT29 used customized malware to inject malicious code into the SolarWinds Orion software build process that was later distributed through a normal software update; they also used password spraying, token theft, API abuse, spear phishing, and other supply chain attacks to compromise user accounts and leverage their associated access. Victims of this campaign included government, consulting, technology, telecom, and other organizations in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. This activity has been labled the StellarParticle campaign in industry reporting.[1] Industry reporting also initially referred to the actors involved in this campaign as UNC2452, NOBELIUM, Dark Halo, and SolarStorm.[2][3][4][5][1][6][7][8]
In April 2021, the US and UK governments attributed the SolarWinds Compromise to Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR); public statements included citations to APT29, Cozy Bear, and The Dukes.[9][10][11] The US government assessed that of the approximately 18,000 affected public and private sector customers of Solar Winds’ Orion product, a much smaller number were compromised by follow-on APT29 activity on their systems.[12]
C0017: C0017
C0017 was an APT41 campaign conducted between May 2021 and February 2022 that successfully compromised at least six U.S. state government networks through the exploitation of vulnerable Internet facing web applications. During C0017, APT41 was quick to adapt and use publicly-disclosed as well as zero-day vulnerabilities for initial access, and in at least two cases re-compromised victims following remediation efforts. The goals of C0017 are unknown, however APT41 was observed exfiltrating Personal Identifiable Information (PII).[1]
C0030: Triton Safety Instrumented System Attack
Triton Safety Instrumented System Attack was a campaign employed by TEMP.Veles which leveraged the Triton malware framework against a petrochemical organization.[1] The malware and techniques used within this campaign targeted specific Triconex Safety Controllers within the environment.[2] The incident was eventually discovered due to a safety trip that occurred as a result of an issue in the malware.[3]
All related ATT&CK context
Object version and sync metadata
The fields below describe the current mirrored snapshot. When Glexia retains multiple ATT&CK source imports, you can open the table to compare the same object across releases (hashes and MITRE timestamps). For MITRE’s own release notes and roadmap, see ATT&CK resources — Updates .
Imported snapshots across ATT&CK releases (1)
| Release | Bundle imported | Object version | Modified | Status | Raw hash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19.1 | 1.11 | Current bundle | 7b4046915814… |
Mirrored ATT&CK source object
The raw object is retained through the mirrored ATT&CK source bundle and object hash. The raw endpoint returns the exact object from the mirrored bundle when available.
External references and citations
MITRE external references are preserved separately from Glexia analysis so citations remain traceable to their original source records.
-
[1]
Deply Mimikatz
Deply, B. (n.d.). Mimikatz. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
Open source URL -
[2]
Adsecurity Mimikatz Guide
Metcalf, S. (2015, November 13). Unofficial Guide to Mimikatz & Command Reference. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
Open source URL -
[3]
mitre-attack S0002Open source URL
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