
From help desk impersonation to AD CS abuse: Investigating ESC1 and ESC8 intrusion paths
Microsoft Threat Intelligence analysis of two human-operated intrusions that began with Teams help desk impersonation and Quick Assist sessions, then diverged at AD CS. Case 1 abused an ESC1 template for privileged certificates and DCSync, with an excluded account later used for Rclone exfiltration. Case 2 used PetitPotam and ESC8 relay to get a domain controller certificate and PKINIT. Includes investigation steps, AD CS hardening and KQL hunting queries.
Blue Team & Detection, Threat Intel, Offensive SecurityΒ· Published and added 30 Oct 2026











