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 <code>Start-Process</code> cmdlet which can be used to run an executable and the <code>Invoke-Command</code> 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, PowerSploit, PoshC2, and PSAttack.(Citation: Github PSAttack)
PowerShell commands/scripts can also be executed without directly invoking the <code>powershell.exe</code> binary through interfaces to PowerShell's underlying <code>System.Management.Automation</code> 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)
View in MITRE ATT&CK®| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE.AE-02.01 | Event analysis and detection | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement provides for implementation of methods to block similar future attacks via security tools such as antivirus and IDS/IPS to provide protection against threats and exploitation attempts.
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| PR.IR-01.08 | End-user device access | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement implements technical controls (e.g., VPN, antivirus software) to address the risks of end-user personal computing devices accessing the organization’s network and resources.
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| PR.PS-01.01 | Configuration baselines | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement provides for securely configuring production systems. This includes hardening default configurations and making security-focused setting adjustments to reduce the attack surface, enforce best practices, and protect sensitive data thereby mitigating adversary exploitation.
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| PR.PS-01.08 | End-user device protection | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement protects endpoints from abuse of commands and scripts through configuration requirements, connection requirements, and other mechanisms to protect network, application, and data integrity.
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| PR.AA-05.02 | Privileged system access | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement protects against PowerShell through the use of privileged account management and the use of multi-factor authentication.
References
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| DE.CM-09.01 | Software and data integrity checking | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement protects against PowerShell through the use of verifying integrity of software/firmware, loading software that is trusted, ensuring privileged process integrity and checking software signatures.
References
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| DE.CM-06.02 | Third-party access monitoring | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement protects against PowerShell through the use of privileged account management. Employing auditing, privilege access management, and just in time access protects against adversaries trying to obtain illicit access to critical systems.
References
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| PR.PS-05.01 | Malware prevention | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
Antivirus/Antimalware software can be utilized to detect and quarantine files that have been embedded with malicious commands or scripts.
References
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| PR.PS-01.03 | Configuration deviation | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement provides protection from Command and Scripting Interpreter through the implementation of security configuration baselines for OS, software, file integrity monitoring and imaging. Security baselining along with disallowing scripts and integrity checking can help protect against adversaries that may abuse command and script interpreters.
References
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| PR.PS-05.02 | Mobile code prevention | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
Mobile code procedures address specific actions taken to prevent the development, acquisition, and introduction of unacceptable mobile code within organizational systems, including requiring mobile code to be digitally signed by a trusted source.
References
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| PR.IR-01.06 | Production environment segregation | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement provides protections for production environments. Measures such as network segmentation and access control reduce the attack surface, restrict movement by adversaries, and protect critical assets and data from compromise.
References
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| PR.PS-01.08 | End-user device protection | Mitigates | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This diagnostic statement protects against PowerShell through the use of limiting access to resources to only authorized devices, management of personal computing devices, network intrusion prevention, and the use of antimalware.
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| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| action.hacking.variety.Abuse of functionality | Abuse of functionality. | related-to | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| alerts_for_windows_machines | Alerts for Windows Machines | technique_scores | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This control may detect suspicious usage of PowerShell and the Windows command line. These detections include usage of suspicious arguments, dynamic script construction, and shellcode on the commandline. The following alerts may be generated: "Detected anomalous mix of upper and lower case characters in command-line", "Detected encoded executable in command line data", "Detected obfuscated command line", "Detected suspicious combination of HTA and PowerShell", "Detected suspicious commandline arguments", "Detected suspicious commandline used to start all executables in a directory", "Detected suspicious credentials in commandline", "Dynamic PS script construction", "Suspicious PowerShell Activity Detected", "Suspicious PowerShell cmdlets executed", "Suspicious command execution".
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| defender_for_app_service | Microsoft Defender for Cloud: Defender for App Service | technique_scores | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
This control monitors for execution of known malicious PowerShell PowerSploit cmdlets. Temporal factor is uknown.
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| Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aws_web_application_firewall | AWS Web Application Firewall | technique_scores | T1059.001 | PowerShell |
Comments
The AWS WAF protects web applications from injection attacks that leverage command and scripting interpreters. AWS WAF provides this protection via the following rule sets that block malicious traffic across a variety of operating systems and applications.
AWSManagedRulesCommonRuleSet AWSManagedRulesSQLiRuleSet AWSManagedRulesUnixRuleSet AWSManagedRulesWindowsRuleSet AWSManagedRulesPHPRuleSet AWSManagedRulesWordPressRuleSet
This is given a score of Significant because it provides protections for PowerShell, Unix, and JavaScript command and scripting interpreters by blocking the malicious content in near real-time.
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