Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution. PowerShell is a powerful interactive command-line interface and scripting environment included in the Windows operating system.(Citation: TechNet PowerShell) Adversaries can use PowerShell to perform a number of actions, including discovery of information and execution of code. Examples include the <code>Start-Process</code> cmdlet which can be used to run an executable and the <code>Invoke-Command</code> cmdlet which runs a command locally or on a remote computer (though administrator permissions are required to use PowerShell to connect to remote systems).

PowerShell may also be used to download and run executables from the Internet, which can be executed from disk or in memory without touching disk.

A number of PowerShell-based offensive testing tools are available, including [Empire](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0363),  [PowerSploit](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0194), [PoshC2](https://attack.mitre.org/software/S0378), and PSAttack.(Citation: Github PSAttack)

PowerShell commands/scripts can also be executed without directly invoking the <code>powershell.exe</code> binary through interfaces to PowerShell's underlying <code>System.Management.Automation</code> assembly DLL exposed through the .NET framework and Windows Common Language Interface (CLI).(Citation: Sixdub PowerPick Jan 2016)(Citation: SilentBreak Offensive PS Dec 2015)(Citation: Microsoft PSfromCsharp APR 2014)
PowerShell
source_name: mitre-attack  url: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1059/001  external_id: T1059.001     source_name: Microsoft PSfromCsharp APR 2014  description: Babinec, K. (2014, April 28). Executing PowerShell scripts from C#. Retrieved April 22, 2019.  url: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/kebab/2014/04/28/executing-powershell-scripts-from-c/     source_name: SilentBreak Offensive PS Dec 2015  description: Christensen, L.. (2015, December 28). The Evolution of Offensive PowerShell Invocation. Retrieved December 8, 2018.  url: https://web.archive.org/web/20190508170150/https://silentbreaksecurity.com/powershell-jobs-without-powershell-exe/     source_name: FireEye PowerShell Logging 2016  description: Dunwoody, M. (2016, February 11). GREATER VISIBILITY THROUGH POWERSHELL LOGGING. Retrieved February 16, 2016.  url: https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2016/02/greater_visibilityt.html     source_name: Github PSAttack  description: Haight, J. (2016, April 21). PS>Attack. Retrieved June 1, 2016.  url: https://github.com/jaredhaight/PSAttack     source_name: inv_ps_attacks  description: Hastings, M. (2014, July 16). Investigating PowerShell Attacks. Retrieved December 1, 2021.  url: https://powershellmagazine.com/2014/07/16/investigating-powershell-attacks/     source_name: Malware Archaeology PowerShell Cheat Sheet  description: Malware Archaeology. (2016, June). WINDOWS POWERSHELL LOGGING CHEAT SHEET - Win 7/Win 2008 or later. Retrieved June 24, 2016.  url: http://www.malwarearchaeology.com/s/Windows-PowerShell-Logging-Cheat-Sheet-ver-June-2016-v2.pdf     source_name: TechNet PowerShell  description: Microsoft. (n.d.). Windows PowerShell Scripting. Retrieved April 28, 2016.  url: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/scriptcenter/dd742419.aspx     source_name: Sixdub PowerPick Jan 2016  description: Warner, J.. (2015, January 6). Inexorable PowerShell – A Red Teamer’s Tale of Overcoming Simple AppLocker Policies. Retrieved December 8, 2018.  url: https://web.archive.org/web/20160327101330/http://www.sixdub.net/?p=367     