Adversaries may abuse utilities that allow for command execution to bypass security restrictions that limit the use of command-line interpreters. Various Windows utilities may be used to execute commands, possibly without invoking cmd. For example, Forfiles, the Program Compatibility Assistant (`pcalua.exe`), components of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), `Scriptrunner.exe`, as well as other utilities may invoke the execution of programs and commands from a Command and Scripting Interpreter, Run window, or via scripts.(Citation: VectorSec ForFiles Aug 2017) (Citation: Evi1cg Forfiles Nov 2017) (Citation: Secure Team - Scriptrunner.exe) (Citation: SS64) (Citation: Bleeping Computer - Scriptrunner.exe) Adversaries may also abuse the `ssh.exe` binary to execute malicious commands via the `ProxyCommand` and `LocalCommand` options, which can be invoked via the `-o` flag or by modifying the SSH config file.(Citation: Threat Actor Targets the Manufacturing industry with Lumma Stealer and Amadey Bot) Adversaries may abuse these features for Stealth, specifically to perform arbitrary execution while subverting detections and/or mitigation controls (such as Group Policy) that limit/prevent the usage of cmd or file extensions more commonly associated with malicious payloads.

Created

Apr 18, 2018, 5:59 PM UTC

Modified

May 12, 2026, 3:12 PM UTC