Fgdump Alternatives: Tools for Extracting Windows Password HashesWarning: extracting password hashes from systems you do not own or have explicit, written permission to test is illegal and unethical. This article is for defensive, educational, and research purposes only — for system administrators, incident responders, and penetration testers operating under lawful authorization.
Overview
Fgdump historically was a popular tool for extracting Windows password hashes by leveraging various Windows mechanisms (LSA secrets, SAM, and remote techniques). Its development stalled, and modern environments, protections (like Credential Guard, LSA protection, Windows Defender, and secure boot configurations), and attacker/defender tool evolution mean there are multiple alternatives—each with different capabilities, requirements, and risk profiles.
This article surveys reputable alternatives, groups them by typical use case (local extraction, remote extraction, memory dumping, and enterprise/agent-based solutions), explains how they work at a high level, outlines prerequisites and common detection mitigations, and offers defensive recommendations.
Key attacker targets and where tools focus
- Local SAM hive (offline or live) — stores local account hashes for local accounts.
- NTDS.dit / Active Directory database — contains domain account hashes (requires domain controller access or Volume Shadow Copy access).
- LSASS process memory — may contain plaintext credentials, Kerberos tickets, and cached hashes.
- LSA secrets and DPAPI-protected data — may reveal service account passwords, stored credentials.
- Cached domain credentials and SAM for remote systems — useful for lateral movement.
Categories of tools (summary)
- Local extraction tools
- Memory-dumping tools
- Remote/agentless extraction tools
- Enterprise/agent-based credential harvesters
- Forensic/offline extraction tools
Local extraction tools
Mimikatz
Mimikatz is the most well-known tool for extracting credentials from Windows systems. It can dump plaintext passwords, NTLM hashes, Kerberos tickets, and manipulate authentication artifacts. It operates by interacting with LSASS and using numerous techniques (Direct memory read, WDigest, Kerberos, DPAPI, etc.).
Prerequisites: Administrative or SYSTEM privileges; modern Windows may require disabling LSA protection or using privileged injection techniques.
Detection/mitigations: EDR/AV often flag Mimikatz. Credential Guard and LSA protection block many techniques. Use of signed binaries and process hollowing can be detected.
gsecdump / pwdump variants
Tools like pwdump, fgdump’s siblings, and gsecdump extract password hashes by reading the SAM database and SYSTEM hive. These are effective for local SAM extraction when you have sufficient privileges or offline access.
Prerequisites: SYSTEM or administrative access; sometimes SAM and SYSTEM hive files (offline) or direct registry access.
Detection/mitigations: Access to registry hives and volume shadow copies may be monitored; tampering with registry snapshots triggers alerts.
Memory-dumping tools
ProcDump + Mimikatz
ProcDump (from Sysinternals) can create a dump of lsass.exe, which Mimikatz can then parse offline to extract secrets. This method is common when direct in-memory reading is blocked.
Prerequisites: SeDebugPrivilege (Administrator); dumping tools may be allowed but flagged by EDR.
Detection/mitigations: Many EDRs now block or monitor calls to CreateToolhelp32Snapshot, MiniDumpWriteDump, or similar APIs on LSASS; Windows Event logs (Event ID 4688) may show process creation.
Comsvcs / Task Manager / procdump alternatives
Other methods involve using built-in Windows components (e.g., using comsvcs.dll via rundll32) or abusing scheduled tasks to obtain process memory. These are often flagged and mitigations exist.
Remote / agentless extraction tools
CrackMapExec (CME)
CrackMapExec is a post-exploitation Swiss-army knife for Windows networks. It can use various modules to perform remote hash dumping (via SMB, WMI, or invoking tools like secretsdump). It automates lateral movement and credential harvesting across many hosts.
Prerequisites: Credentials with sufficient privileges (e.g., administrative, or valid domain account and remote exploit); network access to target hosts.
Detection/mitigations: Service creation, remote procedure calls, and SMB sessions may be logged; unusual SMB/NTLM traffic can trigger alerts.
Impacket’s secretsdump.py
Part of the Impacket suite, secretsdump.py can extract NTLM hashes and LSA secrets remotely using SMB and DCE/RPC techniques. It supports dumping from local SAM, remote SAM (via ADMIN$ share), or NTDS.dit via Volume Shadow Copies.
Prerequisites: Administrative credentials or SYSTEM-equivalent access on target; network connectivity; SMB enabled.
Detection/mitigations: Remote Registry access and VSS usage can be monitored; anomalous SMB authentication or use of RPC APIs can trigger IDS/EDR rules.
Enterprise / agent-based credential harvesters
BloodHound + SharpHound
These are mainly for domain enumeration and finding attack paths, but SharpHound can collect credentials and local admin data when executed on endpoints. BloodHound helps prioritize targets where credential extraction will be most valuable.
Prerequisites: Execution on endpoints (via agent or user execution) with necessary privileges to gather data.
Detection/mitigations: Logging of data collection, endpoint monitoring for unusual PowerShell executions or network connections.
Commercial EDR red-team tools
Authorized red teams may use licensed tools that integrate with enterprise environments to simulate credential theft with controlled telemetry. These vary by vendor.
Forensic/offline extraction tools
NTDSUtil / ntds.dit parsing tools
For domain controllers, extracting NTDS.dit (and SYSTEM hive) for offline parsing provides domain hashes. Tools like ntdsutil, esedbexport, and specialized parsers can extract account hashes from database files and VSS snapshots.
Prerequisites: Access to the domain controller filesystem or backup snapshots.
Detection/mitigations: DC file access is highly sensitive; access attempts are auditable and should trigger alerts.
FTK / EnCase / open-source parsers
Forensic suites can parse registry hives, SAM, and NTDS.dit offline to extract credential artifacts in a controlled, documented manner.
Prerequisites: Disk images or file system access.
Practical examples (high-level)
- Remote hash dump with Impacket:
- Use secretsdump.py with domain admin credentials to pull NTDS.dit or remote SAM.
- Dump LSASS memory:
- Use procdump to create lsass.exe memory dump, then run Mimikatz against the dump.
- Agentless wide-scan:
- Use CrackMapExec to enumerate hosts and call Impacket modules remotely.
(Do these only under explicit authorization. Each step generates noisy telemetry.)
Defenses and detection
- Enable Windows Defender Credential Guard and LSA protection.
- Enforce strict administrative account use: just-in-time (JIT) and Just-Enough-Administration (JEA).
- Monitor for: unusual use of procdump/rundll32, creation of VSS snapshots, remote registry access, high-volume SMB authentication, and Event IDs tied to privilege escalation or process dumping.
- Apply EDR rules to block known tools (Mimikatz signatures) and detect behaviors (LSASS access, MiniDumpWriteDump calls).
- Restrict backup operators and protect DCs with tiered administration.
Comparison table
| Tool / Category | Typical Use | Privilege Required | Detection Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mimikatz | In-memory credential extraction (plaintext, hashes, tickets) | Admin/SYSTEM | High (widely detected) |
| Impacket (secretsdump) | Remote SAM/NTDS hash extraction | Admin/domain credentials | Medium (RPC/SMB logs) |
| CrackMapExec | Network-wide enumeration & dumping | Admin/valid creds | Medium-High (noisy) |
| ProcDump + Mimikatz | Dump LSASS memory for offline analysis | Admin/SeDebugPrivilege | High (process dump activity) |
| NTDS.dit parsing | Offline domain hash extraction | File system/backup access | High (DC access alerts) |
Legal and ethical considerations
- Only perform credential extraction on systems you own or when explicitly authorized in writing (scope, duration, objectives).
- Maintain chain-of-custody and detailed logging for forensic or red-team engagements.
- Disclose findings responsibly to owners and provide remediation steps.
Conclusion
There are multiple modern alternatives to fgdump, each suited to different target types and privilege levels. Mimikatz and Impacket’s secretsdump are the most used in practice for live and remote extraction; ProcDump plus offline analysis remains a common fallback. Defensive controls like Credential Guard, LSA protection, EDR behavior detection, and strict admin practices significantly reduce risk. Use these tools only under explicit legal authorization.
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