Leveraging the Protected Users Group to Strengthen Active Directory Security

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Introduction

The Protected Users group in Active Directory (AD) is a powerful yet often underutilized security feature that can significantly reduce credential theft and lateral movement attacks. By disabling weak authentication protocols like NTLM and WDigest, restricting delegation, and enforcing short Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) lifetimes, this free built-in control disrupts common attack vectors such as Pass-the-Ticket and credential dumping.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the security benefits of the Protected Users group.
  • Learn how to implement and troubleshoot the group in enterprise environments.
  • Discover complementary tools like PowerPUG to automate management tasks.

You Should Know

1. Enabling the Protected Users Group

Command:

Add-ADGroupMember -Identity "Protected Users" -Members "Username"

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Open PowerShell as an administrator.

  1. Use the `Add-ADGroupMember` cmdlet to add a user to the Protected Users group.
  2. Verify the addition with Get-ADGroupMember -Identity "Protected Users".

This action immediately enforces the following protections:

  • Disables NTLM and WDigest for the user.
  • Sets a maximum 4-hour TGT lifetime.
  • Blocks credential delegation, mitigating Pass-the-Ticket attacks.

2. Auditing Protected Users Membership

Command:

Get-ADGroupMember -Identity "Protected Users" | Select-Object Name

Step-by-Step Guide:

  1. Run the command to list all members of the Protected Users group.
  2. Regularly audit this list to ensure only privileged accounts (Tier 0/Tier 1) are included.

3. Mitigating NTLM Fallback Issues

Command (Group Policy):

Computer Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options > "Network security: Restrict NTLM: Outgoing NTLM traffic" = "Deny all"

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Open Group Policy Management Editor.

  1. Navigate to the above path and configure the policy to block NTLM fallback.

3. Deploy the policy to domain-joined systems.

4. Handling Intune-Joined Device Challenges

Workaround:

For Intune-joined devices lacking Kerberos trust:

1. Ensure Hybrid Azure AD Join is configured.

  1. Use Azure AD Conditional Access to enforce modern authentication.

5. Automating with PowerPUG

GitHub Tool: PowerPUG

Usage:

Import-Module .\PowerPUG.ps1 
Invoke-PowerPUG -Action "Audit"

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Download the PowerPUG script from GitHub.

  1. Use it to audit, add, or remove users from the Protected Users group at scale.

What Undercode Say

  • Key Takeaway 1: The Protected Users group is a zero-cost, high-impact security control that disrupts common attack chains.
  • Key Takeaway 2: Implementation requires careful planning, especially in hybrid environments with Intune-joined devices or legacy applications.

Analysis:

While the Protected Users group is a potent tool, its effectiveness depends on organizational maturity. Tier 0 accounts (e.g., Domain Admins) should be prioritized, with gradual rollouts to Tier 1/2. Challenges like broken RDP delegation or third-party app compatibility are surmountable with Kerberos hardening and compensating controls like PAM. Tools like PowerPUG simplify management, making this a must-deploy for defenders.

Prediction

As attackers increasingly target identity systems, the Protected Users group will become a baseline requirement in AD hardening frameworks. Organizations that adopt it now will gain a critical edge against credential-based attacks, while laggards risk becoming low-hanging fruit for ransomware operators.

IT/Security Reporter URL:

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

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