WinPEAS
WinPEAS is specifically designed for privilege escalation and system enumeration in Windows environments. The tool focuses on automating the process of gathering information and identifying vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited to gain higher privileges on a Windows system.
Preparing for Enumeration
Obtain WinPEAS: Download the latest version of WinPEAS from its official GitHub repository. Consider both the .exe version for direct execution and the .bat script version, depending on the target environment's restrictions and your access level.
Transfer to Target System: Safely transfer the WinPEAS executable or script to the target system. This can be done through various means depending on your access level, such as file sharing services, USB drives (if physically accessing the system), or during a penetration test, leveraging a previously exploited vulnerability to upload files.
Execute with Appropriate Permissions: While WinPEAS can be run without administrative privileges, running it with higher privileges when possible will yield more comprehensive results. Use the command prompt or PowerShell for execution.
Key Areas of Enumeration and Examples
WinPEAS categorizes its findings across various vectors. Here are some critical areas it examines, along with examples of what you might discover:
User Information & Privileges:
Lists current user details, group memberships, and privileges.
Example Finding: A user part of the "Administrators" group but not aware of it, opening avenues for exploiting elevated privileges.
Running Processes & Services:
Enumerates running processes, services, their permissions, and paths.
Example Finding: A service running with SYSTEM privileges executing a binary from a writable directory, leading to potential binary replacement attacks.
Scheduled Tasks:
Details about scheduled tasks, their triggers, and actions.
Example Finding: A task running a script located in an unprotected directory, allowing for script modification to execute malicious code.
Network Information:
Lists active connections, saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords, and firewall rules.
Example Finding: Credentials for Wi-Fi networks stored in clear text, which can be leveraged for lateral movement or gaining access to other network resources.
Interesting Files & Directories:
Searches for sensitive files, including password files, configuration files, or unattended installation files.
Example Finding: An unattended.xml file containing administrator credentials used during system setup.
Windows Registry:
Checks for specific registry keys related to startup applications, services, and known vulnerabilities.
Example Finding: AutoLogon credentials stored in the registry, allowing automatic login as a specific user without needing a password.
Misconfigurations & Vulnerabilities:
Identifies common security misconfigurations and checks for known vulnerabilities such as unpatched exploits.
Example Finding: Vulnerable software versions that match known exploits listed in databases like CVE.
While WinPEAS provides a comprehensive scan with minimal input, it does offer command-line arguments that allow users to customize their enumeration process. These arguments help focus on specific areas, adjust verbosity, and manage the scope of the examination, making WinPEAS a versatile tool in the hands of security professionals. Below are some commonly used command-line arguments and examples of how to use them:
Reduces the verbosity of the output to show only critical findings.
Executes WinPEAS using cmd.exe commands for all possible checks. This can be useful if certain checks do not work as expected under PowerShell or if running in environments where PowerShell is restricted.
Gathers detailed system information including OS version, architecture, and hardware details.
Enumerates detailed user account information, group memberships, and privileges.
Lists running processes, highlighting any that are running with elevated privileges, which might present opportunities for privilege escalation.
Enumerates Windows services, focusing on those with misconfigurations or vulnerabilities such as unquoted service paths or writable service binaries.
Collects network configuration details including active connections, firewall rules, and stored credentials for networks.
Searches for sensitive files and directories more thoroughly, potentially uncovering passwords, configuration files, or keys. Slow (more thorough) search:
Enables or disables colored output, which can be helpful for parsing and prioritizing findings based on severity indicated by color codes. Enable color:
Excludes lower privilege checks to focus the enumeration on higher privilege vectors, speeding up the scan and reducing output clutter.
Analyzing Results and Planning Next Steps
After running WinPEAS, the next crucial steps involve carefully reviewing its output, analyzing the findings for validity and exploitability, and prioritizing identified vulnerabilities based on their impact and the ease of exploitation.
Validate Findings: Not all results may be immediately exploitable or relevant. Validate and reproduce the findings where possible to confirm their accuracy.
Research Identified Vulnerabilities: For any software vulnerabilities or misconfigurations identified, research potential exploits or privilege escalation techniques available, using resources like CVE databases, Exploit-DB, or even GitHub.
Document and Report: Document your findings, providing context, evidence, and potentially steps for remediation or mitigation. Reporting should be clear and concise, aimed at enabling the target organization to act on the identified issues.
Ethical Considerations: Always conduct enumeration and subsequent exploitation within the bounds of legal and ethical guidelines. Unauthorized testing or exploitation could lead to legal repercussions and ethical breaches.
Last updated