type: attack-pattern
spec_version: 2.1
id: attack-pattern--970a3432-3237-47ad-bcca-7d8cbb217736
created: 2020-03-09T13:48:55.078Z
created_by_ref: identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5
revoked: no
external_references: source_name: mitre-attack
url: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/001
external_id: T1059.001
source_name: Microsoft PSfromCsharp APR 2014
description: Babinec, K. (2014, April 28). Executing PowerShell scripts from C#. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
url: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/kebab/2014/04/28/executing-powershell-scripts-from-c/
source_name: SilentBreak Offensive PS Dec 2015
description: Christensen, L.. (2015, December 28). The Evolution of Offensive PowerShell Invocation. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
url: https://web.archive.org/web/20190508170150/https://silentbreaksecurity.com/powershell-jobs-without-powershell-exe/
source_name: FireEye PowerShell Logging 2016
description: Dunwoody, M. (2016, February 11). GREATER VISIBILITY THROUGH POWERSHELL LOGGING. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
url: https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2016/02/greater_visibilityt.html
source_name: Github PSAttack
description: Haight, J. (2016, April 21). PS>Attack. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
url: https://github.com/Exploit-install/PSAttack-1
source_name: inv_ps_attacks
description: Hastings, M. (2014, July 16). Investigating PowerShell Attacks. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
url: https://powershellmagazine.com/2014/07/16/investigating-powershell-attacks/
source_name: Malware Archaeology PowerShell Cheat Sheet
description: Malware Archaeology. (2016, June). WINDOWS POWERSHELL LOGGING CHEAT SHEET - Win 7/Win 2008 or later. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
url: http://www.malwarearchaeology.com/s/Windows-PowerShell-Logging-Cheat-Sheet-ver-June-2016-v2.pdf
source_name: TechNet PowerShell
description: Microsoft. (n.d.). Windows PowerShell Scripting. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
url: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/scriptcenter/dd742419.aspx
source_name: Sixdub PowerPick Jan 2016
description: Warner, J.. (2015, January 6). Inexorable PowerShell – A Red Teamer’s Tale of Overcoming Simple AppLocker Policies. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
url: https://web.archive.org/web/20160327101330/http://www.sixdub.net/?p=367
object_marking_refs: marking-definition--fa42a846-8d90-4e51-bc29-71d5b4802168
modified: 2025-10-24T17:49:07.660Z
name: PowerShell
description: Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution. PowerShell is a powerful interactive command-line interface and scripting environment included in the Windows operating system.(Citation: TechNet PowerShell) Adversaries can use PowerShell to perform a number of actions, including discovery of information and execution of code. Examples include the Start-Process cmdlet which can be used to run an executable and the Invoke-Command cmdlet which runs a command locally or on a remote computer (though administrator permissions are required to use PowerShell to connect to remote systems).

PowerShell may also be used to download and run executables from the Internet, which can be executed from disk or in memory without touching disk.

A number of PowerShell-based offensive testing tools are available, including [Empire](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0363), [PowerSploit](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0194), [PoshC2](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0378), and PSAttack.(Citation: Github PSAttack)

PowerShell commands/scripts can also be executed without directly invoking the powershell.exe binary through interfaces to PowerShell's underlying System.Management.Automation assembly DLL exposed through the .NET framework and Windows Common Language Interface (CLI).(Citation: Sixdub PowerPick Jan 2016)(Citation: SilentBreak Offensive PS Dec 2015)(Citation: Microsoft PSfromCsharp APR 2014)
kill_chain_phases: kill_chain_name: mitre-attack
phase_name: execution
x_mitre_attack_spec_version: 3.2.0
x_mitre_contributors: Mayuresh Dani, Qualys
Praetorian
Ross Brittain
x_mitre_deprecated: no
x_mitre_domains: enterprise-attack
x_mitre_is_subtechnique: yes
x_mitre_modified_by_ref: identity--c78cb6e5-0c4b-4611-8297-d1b8b55e40b5
x_mitre_platforms: Windows
x_mitre_version: 1.5
x_mitre_remote_support: no