Published Paper Details:

Ticket forgery remains a significant cybersecurity threat, particularly in environments utilizing Kerberos for authentication. Kerberoasting is an attack technique that exploits weaknesses in the Kerberos protocol, specifically targeting service accounts to extract their hashed passwords from Kerberos service tickets (TGS tickets). Once an attacker obtains these hashes, they can conduct offline brute-force attacks to reveal plaintext passwords. With the service account credentials, attackers can forge Kerberos tickets, enabling unauthorized access to network resources and escalating privileges within the domain. This paper examines the mechanics of Kerberoasting, its implications for ticket forgery, and the potential impact on organizational security. Additionally, it explores mitigation strategies, including robust password policies, the use of Managed Service Accounts (MSAs), and regular auditing of Kerberos service tickets to detect and prevent such attacks. Understanding and addressing the vulnerabilities exploited by Kerberoasting is crucial for maintaining the integrity and security of Kerberos-authenticated environments.