Detection: Mimikatz PassTheTicket CommandLine Parameters

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: 13bbd574-83ac-11ec-99d4-acde48001122 Author: Mauricio Velazco, Splunk Type: TTP Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic detects the use of Mimikatz command line parameters associated with pass-the-ticket attacks. It leverages data from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents, focusing on specific command-line patterns related to Kerberos ticket manipulation. This activity is significant because pass-the-ticket attacks allow adversaries to move laterally within an environment using stolen Kerberos tickets, bypassing normal access controls. If confirmed malicious, this could enable attackers to escalate privileges, access sensitive information, and maintain persistence within the network.

Search

 1
 2| tstats `security_content_summariesonly` count min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime FROM datamodel=Endpoint.Processes
 3  WHERE (
 4        Processes.process = "*sekurlsa::tickets /export*"
 5        OR
 6        Processes.process = "*kerberos::ptt*"
 7    )
 8  BY Processes.action Processes.dest Processes.original_file_name
 9     Processes.parent_process Processes.parent_process_exec Processes.parent_process_guid
10     Processes.parent_process_id Processes.parent_process_name Processes.parent_process_path
11     Processes.process Processes.process_exec Processes.process_guid
12     Processes.process_hash Processes.process_id Processes.process_integrity_level
13     Processes.process_name Processes.process_path Processes.user
14     Processes.user_id Processes.vendor_product
15
16| `drop_dm_object_name(Processes)`
17
18| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)`
19
20| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)`
21
22| `mimikatz_passtheticket_commandline_parameters_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
Windows Event Log Security 4688	Windows	`'XmlWinEventLog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Security'`
Sysmon EventID 1	Windows	`'XmlWinEventLog'`	`'XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational'`
CrowdStrike ProcessRollup2	Other	`'crowdstrike:events:sensor'`	`'crowdstrike'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
security_content_ctime	`convert timeformat="%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S" ctime($field$)`
mimikatz_passtheticket_commandline_parameters_filter	`search *`

mimikatz_passtheticket_commandline_parameters_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK

+ Kill Chain Phases

+ NIST

+ CIS

- Threat Actors

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1550.003	Pass the Ticket	Lateral Movement

Exploitation

DE.CM

CIS 10

APT32

BRONZE BUTLER

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting	Value
Disabled	true
Cron Schedule	`0 * * * *`
Earliest Time	`-70m@m`
Latest Time	`-10m@m`
Schedule Window	`auto`
Creates Finding (Notable)	Yes
Rule Title	`%name%`
Rule Description	`%description%`
Notable Event Fields	user, dest
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event)	Yes

TTP detections generate a Finding (Notable) and may generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events) for associated entities.

Implementation

The detection is based on data that originates from Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) agents. These agents are designed to provide security-related telemetry from the endpoints where the agent is installed. To implement this search, you must ingest logs that contain the process GUID, process name, and parent process. Additionally, you must ingest complete command-line executions. These logs must be processed using the appropriate Splunk Technology Add-ons that are specific to the EDR product. The logs must also be mapped to the Processes node of the Endpoint data model. Use the Splunk Common Information Model (CIM) to normalize the field names and speed up the data modeling process.

Known False Positives

Although highly unlikely, legitimate applications may use the same command line parameters as Mimikatz.

Associated Analytic Story

Finding

Title	Entity Field	Entity Type	Risk Score
Mimikatz command line parameters for pass the ticket attacks were used on $dest$	user	user	50

Intermediate Findings

Message	Entity Field	Entity Type	Risk Score
Mimikatz command line parameters for pass the ticket attacks were used on $dest$	dest	system	50

Threat Objects

Field	Type
parent_process_name	parent_process_name

References

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	✅ Passing	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational`	`XmlWinEventLog`
Integration	✅ Passing	Dataset	`XmlWinEventLog:Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational`	`XmlWinEventLog`

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub | Version: 13