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Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Advanced

Key Distribution Center (KDC)

Kerberos component that authenticates principals and issues tickets, consisting of the AS and TGS.

Definition

The Authentication Service (AS) validates the user and issues a Ticket-Granting Ticket, and the Ticket-Granting Service (TGS) issues service tickets. In Active Directory every domain controller runs the KDC service. The KDC holds long-term keys for all principals, making it a high-value target.

Example

A domain controller's KDC issues a service ticket for CIFS/fileserver01 when a user opens a share.

Exam tip

KDC = AS + TGS; compromise of the krbtgt account enables golden tickets.

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