Active Directory is one of the most important topics to master if you are learning Hack The Box, ProLabs, internal penetration testing, Windows privilege escalation, or real-world red team methodology.
Most enterprise Windows environments are built around AD. Users, groups, computers, domain controllers, Kerberos, LDAP, SMB, service accounts, ACLs, certificates, delegation, and trusts all connect through it. That is why many serious HTB machines and ProLabs eventually become an Active Directory puzzle.
This post introduces Part 1 of my Practical Hacking Cheatsheet Series: Active Directory.
The full cheatsheet is designed as a clean, practical reference for AD attack methodology and commands. It is not just a random dump of tools. The goal is to help you quickly understand what to check, which command to run, and how different AD attack paths connect together during a real lab or assessment.
The Active Directory Attack Cheatsheet covers areas like:
- BloodHound collection
- LDAP enumeration
- SMB enumeration
- RPC enumeration
- User, group, and computer discovery
- AS-REP roasting
- Kerberoasting
- Password spraying
- Pass-the-Hash
- DCSyncDelegation abuse
- Resource-Based Constrained Delegation
- ADCS attacks
- WinRM lateral movement
- PsExec, SMBExec, WMIExec and DCOM
- Credential dumping
- Golden Ticket and Silver Ticket abuse
- GPO abuse
- Cross-forest trust attacks
This cheatsheet is useful when you are inside a Windows domain and need a fast reference for your next step.
For example:
- How do I enumerate domain users?
- How do I collect BloodHound data?H
- ow do I check for Kerberoastable accounts?
- How do I perform AS-REP roasting?
- How do I validate credentials safely?
- How do I use an NTLM hash?
- How do I move laterally?
- How do I abuse ADCS or delegation?
- How do I identify privilege escalation paths?
That is the main purpose of this series: to give you compact but useful practical references you can keep beside you while solving machines, practicing labs, or revising attack methodology.
Full Cheatsheet Series
This is the planned structure of the complete series:
| Part | Cheatsheet | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | Active Directory | AD attack methodology and commands |
| Part 2 | Web Application | Web exploitation techniques and payloads |
| Part 3 | Linux Privesc | Linux privilege escalation vectors |
| Part 4 | Windows Privesc | Windows privilege escalation vectors |
| Part 5 | Reverse Shells | Reverse shell one-liners for all languages |
| Part 6 | File Transfers | Methods to transfer files between machines |
| Part 7 | Pivoting | SSH tunneling, Chisel, Ligolo, SOCKS |
| Part 8 | Password Attacks | Cracking, spraying, brute-forcing |
| Part 9 | Linux Enumeration | Post-exploitation Linux enumeration |
| Part 10 | Windows Enumeration | Post-exploitation Windows enumeration |
Each part will focus on a specific area of practical hacking and will be written for people who want something useful during real practice, not just theory.
Who This Is For
This cheatsheet series is made for:
- Hack The Box players
- ProLab learners
- Beginner and intermediate pentesters
- Cybersecurity studentsRed team beginners
- Practical exam preparation
- People building their own hacking notes
- Anyone who wants organized commands instead of scattered bookmarks
The first part focuses on Active Directory because AD is one of the most common and important areas in modern practical cybersecurity labs.
Whether you are working through an HTB machine, practicing in a ProLab, or revising Windows domain attack paths, having a structured AD reference saves time and helps you think more clearly.
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This post first appeared at - The CyberSec Guru