Budget-Friendly ways to Audit Active Directory Security
If you're responsible for keeping your organization's Active Directory (AD) environment secure, you already know how complex and vulnerable it can be. AD is a goldmine for attackers. If they manage to get a foothold, misconfigurations and excessive privileges can quickly lead to full domain compromise.
The good news? You don’t need a massive budget or fancy enterprise tools to spot and fix many of the most common AD issues. Several excellent free tools not only help you find vulnerabilities but also provide solutions to fix the security holes.
Let’s walk through some of the best free tools out there for auditing AD security and—more importantly—what they can actually help you fix.
1. PingCastle
Think of PingCastle as a “quick health check” for your AD environment. It scans for things like old user accounts, excessive privileges, and weak configurations.
Why it’s useful: It gives you a detailed HTML report, complete with a “technical debt” score and a prioritized list of issues.
Example: If it finds users with unconstrained delegation, it tells you exactly what that means and recommends disabling it or moving to constrained delegation.
https://www.pingcastle.com
2. Purple Knight (by Semperis)
Purple Knight runs over 70 checks for both misconfigurations and signs that someone might already be poking around where they shouldn’t.
Why it’s useful: It doesn’t just dump raw data. Each issue comes with plain-English explanations and recommended next steps.
Example: If a user has the “PasswordNotRequired” flag set (which is as bad as it sounds), it tells you how to enforce password requirements on that account.
3. BloodHound (My Personal Favorite)
BloodHound maps out AD relationships—who can access what, and how they might escalate privileges. It’s often used by red teamers and attackers... which makes it just as valuable for defenders.
Why it’s useful: It shows how attackers could move laterally or escalate inside your environment. But here’s the key part—it also helps you figure out how to close those paths.
Example: If it finds a user who has “GenericAll” rights over a group, BloodHound shows the path and SpecterOps (the creators) provide fix guidance on their wiki (https://github.com/BloodHoundAD/BloodHound/wiki), like adjusting permissions using PowerShell or `dsacls`.
💡 Pro tip: Use SharpHound (https://github.com/BloodHoundAD/SharpHound) to collect the data, then visualize and plan your fixes in the BloodHound interface.
https://github.com/BloodHoundAD/BloodHound
4. Group Policy Analyzer (Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit)
Compares your current Group Policy Objects (GPOs) against Microsoft’s recommended security baselines.
Why it’s useful: It highlights what’s out of line and tells you exactly what the setting *should* be.
Example: If your password policy only requires 8 characters and the baseline is 14, it points that out and suggests adjusting the GPO.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=55319
5. FastTrack Automation Studio (Community Edition)
A scripting tool with built-in AD audit features.
Why it’s useful: It checks for misconfigurations and automatically generates the scripts to fix them.
What you can fix: Everything from user account settings to delegated permissions, all with click-to-fix scripts.
https://www.fasttrackautomation.com
6. Lepide Auditor (Free Edition)
Tracks changes to AD objects in real time such as users, groups, permissions, etc.
Why it’s useful: It alerts you to suspicious changes and gives you recommendations (with documentation links) for reversing or correcting them.
🛑 Caveat: Some features are locked behind the paid version, but the core audit functions are free.
https://www.lepide.com/lepideauditor/free-active-directory-auditing.html
🔁 A Simple AD Audit and Fix Workflow
1. Start with PingCastle or Purple Knight – They give you a broad overview with easy-to-understand risk rankings and suggested fixes.
2. Use BloodHound – Dig into the relationships and permissions to find risky access paths.
3. Review GPOs with Microsoft’s Group Policy Analyzer – Make sure you’re aligned with baseline security practices.
4. Fix what's fixable – Use FastTrack scripts or PowerShell to apply the recommended changes.
5. Track changes with Lepide or a logging solution – Keep an eye out for recurring misconfigurations.
✅ Final Tips
- Always test fixes in a **lab environment** before applying them in production.
- If you're not sure what a setting does, check Microsoft’s documentation or reach out to your security team.
- Don’t just audit once rather schedule this quarterly or after any major AD change.
- Document everything: what you found, what you fixed, and who signed off.
You don’t need an expensive license or a full security team to get real, actionable insights into your Active Directory environment. With tools like Purple Knight, PingCastle, and BloodHound, you can find risky configurations and just as importantly, you’ll know how to fix them.
Start small. Run a scan. Read the report. Pick a few issues to tackle this week. You'll be surprised how much you can harden your environment without spending a dime.
