Consolidate duplicated auth logic into shared module; add multi-environment test infrastructure

[Jacob-Strokus]

Consolidate duplicated auth logic into shared core/auth module

Summary

LDAP and RPC authentication logic was copy-pasted across 5 files with subtle inconsistencies. This PR extracts it into a single shared module (core/auth), cleans up dead code left behind, and adds a full test suite with multi-environment CI.

Motivation

The same authentication patterns — Kerberos login, pass-the-hash, SASL password bind, null/anonymous bind, and ldap:// → ldaps:// channel binding fallback — were duplicated in target_parser.py, creds_checker.py, ntlmv1_detector.py, ghost_spn.py, and ntlm_reflection.py. Bug fixes (e.g., channel binding fallback) had to be applied in multiple places and were easy to miss, as seen with ntlmv1_detector.check_gpo() which only tried ldap:// and had no ldaps:// fallback.

Changes

New files

File	Description
core/auth.py	Shared auth module — 5 functions, 169 lines
tests/conftest.py	Pytest fixtures with dependency stubs for running without impacket/ldap3
tests/test_auth.py	51 tests across 11 test classes
tox.ini	Local multi-env testing (Python 3.8–3.12 × stubbed/full + lint)
.github/workflows/auth-tests.yml	GitHub Actions CI matrix

Shared API (core/auth)

Function	Purpose
get_base_dn(domain)	Domain → LDAP base DN conversion
is_kerberos_error(error)	Detect Kerberos-specific failures (avoid retrying unrecoverable errors)
connect_ldap(config, dc_ip=None)	Full LDAP connection lifecycle: Kerberos / PTH / password / null auth with auto ldaps:// fallback
configure_rpc_auth(config, transport, target)	Set credentials + Kerberos options on DCE/RPC transport
connect_dce(transport, use_kerberos, uuid)	Create, connect, and bind DCE/RPC handle

Refactored consumers

File	What changed	Lines removed
core/target_parser.py	_enumerate_ad() auth block → connect_ldap()	~80
core/creds_checker.py	Auth loop → connect_ldap() + is_kerberos_error()	~50
detectors/ntlmv1_detector.py	LDAP auth in check_gpo() + RPC auth in _get_lm_compat_level()	~60
detectors/ghost_spn.py	_connect_ldap() body → delegation to shared module	~45
detectors/ntlm_reflection.py	RPC auth in _get_ubr_from_registry() + _check_printspooler_enabled()	~50

Dead code removed

• from impacket.smbconnection import SMBConnection — imported but never used in target_parser.py
• from impacket.dcerpc.v5 import transport — imported but never used in auth.py
• ldap_scheme, ldap_port, ldap_url variables — computed but unreferenced after connect_ldap() handles connections internally
• CredentialChecker._get_base_dn() — orphaned helper method + unused get_base_dn import

Bug fixes (via consolidation)

• ntlmv1_detector.check_gpo() now correctly falls back from ldap:// to ldaps:// on channel binding enforcement — previously it only tried ldap:// and would fail silently on hardened DCs

Test coverage

51 tests covering all auth functions and integration scenarios:

• TestGetBaseDn — simple, multi-part, single-label, empty, None
• TestIsKerberosError — 5 Kerberos patterns, 5 non-Kerberos, case sensitivity
• TestConnectLdapPassword — SASL login, protocol selection, explicit DC override
• TestConnectLdapChannelBindingFallback — auto ldaps:// retry on 80090346
• TestConnectLdapPassTheHash — empty password + nthash, fallback
• TestConnectLdapKerberos — kerberosLogin, uppercase domain, aesKey
• TestConnectLdapNull — ldap3 anonymous bind, LDAPS variant
• TestConnectLdapDcResolution — config fallback, DNS resolution, empty domain
• TestConfigureRpcAuth — NTLM/Kerberos/PTH credentials, krb_dc_only logic
• TestConnectDce — bind lifecycle, Kerberos auth type, error propagation
• TestAuthIntegrationScenarios — end-to-end flows mimicking real consumer patterns

Tests use mock stubs so they run without impacket/ldap3 installed — safe for any CI environment.

CI matrix

Job	Python versions	OS	Deps
Stubbed	3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12	ubuntu, windows	pytest only
Full	3.10, 3.11, 3.12	ubuntu, windows	all requirements.txt
Lint	3.12	ubuntu	pyflakes, pycodestyle

How to test locally

# Run tests directly
pytest tests/ -v

# Run with tox (all environments)
tox

# Single environment
tox -e py312-stubbed

Stats

13 files changed, 1,051 insertions(+), 370 deletions(-)