nltest.exe

by Microsoft

System Utilityhigh risk

Sources: 300M+ executions observed in the wild.

Summary

Network Logon Test utility. Queries domain controller information, trust relationships, and replication status. Heavily used for Active Directory reconnaissance during post-exploitation.

nltest.exe is the 1457th most commonly executed Windows program in EchoTrail's dataset, observed 786 times across enterprise environments. It typically runs from C:\Windows\System32 and it is most often launched by PDQInventoryScanner.exe.

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1457th

most commonly executed Windows program

786

observed endpoint executions

Behavior

Top Paths

C:\Windows\System32100%

Top Hashes (SHA256)

ff5ee67ba5ec9c196489b4ac28158cec3fecc6acfc0182cbc42e7dfeffc50b3737.28%
341df1664336394cb93d9771b58d0b4b40ab82b5cd97ad03b9543a3b4f7a8a5620.23%
63e8800c48802b22fd49c3bd0b61d4062a0e2214f1d9d93782990f4baf04147a19.34%
ffa1817384d856cec1c3b87d14ffa9435db64d446f88cafd67bdedfa8604893710.18%
d17fb0bd5f81aed9b30895cad98ec7f3af3ebfd685186581e93b48b1a0e4837d5.73%
41cf147105ff6a1c8804ccdbcffac5886a8624615894e3514786c9b07a0746ca3.82%
f5419bbf9d3f40e57468540b344872dec8fcf36a8b4aa8cc9cae065ae4654b141.15%
fae089ba0c0dfde71491475310cda8acf81fa2ed7c46413efab661c07773daa91.15%
966ee9bc110faf9099971cd49fd4e1c528fdeebd27b64d28ada4e6c01e6231ec0.64%
68b33d647a8d6d0e2db5d3a612c2e9205e754b3743d1e0ffa17847531aafd9cb0.25%

Process Ancestry

Security Analysis

What does nltest.exe normally do?

Runs from C:\Windows\System32. Used by domain administrators to test domain trust relationships, verify DC connectivity, and troubleshoot replication. Very rare in day-to-day operations.

When is nltest.exe suspicious?

Execution by non-domain-admin users. Commands querying domain trusts (/domain_trusts, /dclist, /dsgetdc). Rapid sequential execution with different parameters (enumeration pattern). Execution from unusual parents or in non-admin contexts.

How do attackers abuse nltest.exe?

AD RECONNAISSANCE: Attackers use nltest to map Active Directory structure. - "nltest /domain_trusts" — enumerates all trusted domains, reveals attack paths between forests - "nltest /dclist:<domain>" — lists all domain controllers, identifies targets for DCSync or lateral movement - "nltest /dsgetdc:<domain>" — finds the primary DC, used to target Kerberoasting and credential attacks - "nltest /parentdomain" — identifies the parent domain in a tree structure Used by nearly every major APT group and ransomware operator during the reconnaissance phase. Part of standard post-exploitation playbooks for AD environments.

Detection guidance

HIGH-CONFIDENCE DETECTIONS: - nltest.exe with /domain_trusts, /dclist, or /dsgetdc parameters - nltest.exe run by non-admin service accounts or standard users - Multiple nltest.exe invocations in short succession (enumeration) DATA SOURCES: Process creation with command line (Sysmon 1, Windows 4688)

False positive notes

Domain administrators troubleshooting trust relationships or DC connectivity. Automated monitoring scripts that check DC health. SCCM or other management tools verifying domain membership.

MITRE ATT&CK techniques

T1482 T1018 T1016

References

https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1482/

Related Processes

adfind.exedsquery.exe ldapsearch.exe net.exe powershell.exe

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