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DMSA Link Attributes Modified

Detects modification of dMSA link attributes (msDS-ManagedAccountPrecededByLink) via PowerShell scripts. This command line pattern could be an indicator an attempt to exploit the BadSuccessor privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows Server 2025.

MITRE ATT&CK

privilege-escalationdefense-evasionpersistenceinitial-access

Detection Query

selection:
  ScriptBlockText|contains|all:
    - .Put("msDS-ManagedAccountPrecededByLink
    - CN=
condition: selection

Author

Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)

Created

2025-05-24

Data Sources

windowsps_script

Platforms

windows

Tags

attack.privilege-escalationattack.defense-evasionattack.persistenceattack.initial-accessattack.t1078.002attack.t1098
Raw Content
title: DMSA Link Attributes Modified
id: 9b111d8e-92e0-4153-88bc-daefc1333aba
related:
    - id: 6c9eb492-e477-4df9-b0f4-571fc9db29cd # Windows Security Modification of msDS-ManagedAccountPrecededByLink Attribute
      type: similar
status: experimental
description: |
    Detects modification of dMSA link attributes (msDS-ManagedAccountPrecededByLink) via PowerShell scripts.
    This command line pattern could be an indicator an attempt to exploit the BadSuccessor privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows Server 2025.
references:
    - https://www.akamai.com/blog/security-research/abusing-bad-successor-for-privilege-escalation-in-active-directory
author: Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems)
date: 2025-05-24
tags:
    - attack.privilege-escalation
    - attack.defense-evasion
    - attack.persistence
    - attack.initial-access
    - attack.t1078.002
    - attack.t1098
logsource:
    category: ps_script
    product: windows
detection:
    selection:
        ScriptBlockText|contains|all:
            - '.Put("msDS-ManagedAccountPrecededByLink'
            - 'CN='
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate administrative tasks modifying these attributes.
level: low