Delegated Permissions in Active Directory: Silent but Deadly

By /

Listen to this Post

Featured Image
Active Directory (AD) delegated permissions can be a hidden goldmine for attackers if misconfigured. As highlighted in the post, issues like a random user having “FullControl” over the Domain Controllers OU often go unnoticed by automated scanners like Nessus, IT teams, and even past penetration tests.

What to Look For:

  • Unsafe Users: Domain Users, Everyone, Authenticated Users.
  • Unsafe Permissions: FullControl, WriteAllProperty, GenericAll.
  • Privileged Resources: Domain Controllers OU, Administrators group, Enterprise Admins.

Tools to Detect Insecure Delegations

The post mentions ADeleginator, a tool designed to uncover insecure delegated permissions in AD.

You Should Know:

Manual Detection with PowerShell

Check dangerous permissions on critical AD objects:

 Get ACLs of Domain Controllers OU 
Get-Acl "AD:\OU=Domain Controllers,DC=domain,DC=com" | Select -ExpandProperty Access

Check for dangerous permissions on Admin groups 
(Get-Acl "AD:\CN=Administrators,CN=Builtin,DC=domain,DC=com").Access | Where-Object { $<em>.IdentityReference -like "Authenticated Users" -and $</em>.ActiveDirectoryRights -match "WriteProperty|GenericAll" }

Using BloodHound for AD Delegation Analysis

 Ingest AD data into BloodHound 
SharpHound.exe --CollectionMethods ACL,Container,Default --Domain domain.com --ZipFileName loot.zip

Query for dangerous delegations in BloodHound 
MATCH p=(u)-[r:Owns|GenericAll|WriteDacl|WriteOwner|AllExtendedRights]->(n) WHERE NOT u.name CONTAINS "ADMIN" RETURN p

ADeleginator Usage (Recommended Tool)

 Clone and run ADeleginator 
git clone https://github.com/example/ADeleginator 
Import-Module .\ADeleginator.ps1 
Find-InsecureDelegations -Domain "domain.com"

Linux-Based AD Enumeration (Impacket)

 Check ACLs using ldapsearch 
ldapsearch -x -H ldap://domain.com -D "[email protected]" -w "password" -b "DC=domain,DC=com" "(objectClass=)" nTSecurityDescriptor

Decode security descriptor with impacket 
python3 ntsecuritydescriptor.py -hashes :NTLMhash [email protected]

Mitigation Steps

  1. Audit AD ACLs regularly with tools like ADeleginator or BloodHound.

2. Remove unnecessary permissions from non-admin users.

  1. Monitor changes using Windows Event Logs (Event ID 5136 for object modifications).

4. Restrict “WriteDACL” on critical objects.

What Undercode Say:

Delegated permissions in AD are often overlooked but can lead to domain compromise if abused. Automated tools miss many misconfigurations, so manual verification is crucial.

Expected Output:

  • PowerShell: Lists dangerous permissions on critical AD objects.
  • BloodHound: Visualizes attack paths via insecure delegations.
  • ADeleginator: Automates detection of risky permissions.
  • Impacket: Helps Linux-based red teams analyze AD security descriptors.

Stay vigilant—delegated permissions are a silent killer! 🔥

IT/Security Reporter URL:

Reported By: Spenceralessi Delegated – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

Join Our Cyber World:

💬 Whatsapp | 💬 Telegram

Related Posts: