Welcome back, aspiring cyberwarriors!
PowerView is one of those tools that has become almost legendary in the world of Windows security. Originally, it existed as PowerView.ps1, a PowerShell script created to help security professionals enumerate and understand Active Directory environments from the inside. In simple language, it allows you to ask the domain controller many questions and receive detailed answers about users, computers, groups, privileges, relationships and sometimes even weaknesses. This allows reconnaissance without loud port scans. For blue teamers the value is just as high because it gives a very realistic view of what an attacker can easily see using only low privileges.
The problem with the original PowerView.ps1 is that it runs only on Windows and almost every antivirus product now detects it. That limitation inspired powerview.py, a Python 3 implementation that you can run on almost any platform that has it installed.
OTW always stresses that reconnaissance is everything. One of the principles he shares is to listen carefully to your enemy because they will tell you everything you need to know in order to defeat them. Active Directory is a perfect example of this. It was not really designed to hide internal structure. Even normal domain users can enumerate almost everything inside the domain. They can discover privileged users, misconfigurations, escalation paths and even extract Kerberos hashes for cracking.
A mature hacker understands this. Instead of blasting the network with noisy scans, the first goal is usually to identify and communicate with the domain controller. So the first priority for anyone working inside a Windows domain should be LDAP enumeration. Another point worth mentioning is that many pentesters feel lost when they first land inside a domain. They are unsure what to do next. If that sounds familiar, this article is meant for you.
What If?
There are two practical issues you may encounter when working with powerview.py.
The first problem is credentials. Powerview.py requires valid domain credentials. So what happens if you do not have them? This is where MAQ, or Machine Account Quota, becomes important. By default, every user in Active Directory is allowed to create up to ten machine accounts. These machine accounts can authenticate to the domain and can therefore be used for enumeration. So if you have a shell or an RCE you simply create a machine account with a password and then use that account with powerview.py to log in.
The second problem is platform compatibility. Sometimes the machine you compromise is running Windows with no python and centrally controlled antivirus that you cannot disable. Other times you land on a sensitive Linux production box where installing tools is not acceptable. In those cases a reverse proxy tunnel is often the best solution. For example you might create one on Windows and Linux using this command:
ssh -R 1080 user@vps -Nf
Then you route traffic through port 1080 on your server using proxychains.
Setting Up
Let us prepare the environment for powerview.py. There are several ways, but this method works on most Linux systems:
bash$ > sudo apt install libkrb5-dev
bash$ > pipx install "git+https://github.com/aniqfakhrul/powerview.py"Once you complete installation, you are normally ready to begin enumeration.
Connection
Connecting to the domain controller is very flexible. You can authenticate using a password, an NTLM hash or even a PFX certificate:
With a password:
bash$ > powerview domain.local/lowpriv:[email protected]
With an NTLM hash:
bash$ > powerview domain.local/[email protected] -H NTLM
With a pfx file:
bash$ > powerview 10.10.10.10 --pfx administrator.pfx
If you are using a reverse proxy, you simply run your commands through proxychains. Once authentication succeeds, you are ready to enumerate the domain.
Capabilities
At this stage you can explore everything powerview.py can do. Pressing Tab twice lists available commands. If you have used PowerView.ps1 before, you will recognize many names and patterns, although some commands are different. Powerview.py does not include every feature from the original script, but there is still more than enough functionality to fully map a domain.
Every command contains a help section that explains available flags. You will rely on these flags heavily as they allow you to refine your results and avoid noise.
PV > Get-DomainComputer -h
Computers
In Active Directory, computers are objects just like users. Each computer can have different permissions or roles. Misconfigurations can make certain computers particularly valuable to attackers. For example, here is how to list all enabled computers that are vulnerable to unconstrained delegation:
PV > Get-DomainComputer -Enabled -Unconstrained
Even small organizations usually have complex internal structures. You can count all enabled computers like this:
PV > Get-DomainComputer -Enabled -Count
That’s a lot. At this point hackers usually export the names of all those computers then ping them to discover their IPs. That way they can get a list of real computers, not a mix with computer accounts. Exporting computer names looks like this:
PV > Get-DomainComputer -Enabled -Properties name -OutFile /root/computers.txt
You can already see the power of command flags to filter results. Also, you can retrieve detailed information about a specific computer:
PV > Get-NetComputerInfo -Computer NAME
Older Windows versions are especially valuable because they may lack protections and are often still critical production systems.
Users
We can also enumerate users. For example, this command shows users with SPNs configured, meaning they are vulnerable to Kerberoasting:
PV > Get-DomainUser -SPN -Properties sAMAccountName
Defenders should pay special attention here. Privileged users should not have SPNs unless absolutely required. If they do, their passwords must be really strong.
You can also list users with AdminCount, which usually marks privileged or protected accounts:
PV > Get-DomainUser -AdminCount -Properties sAMAcountName
Groups
Groups control privilege assignment. You can list all groups as follows:
PV > Get-DomainGroup
To inspect a specific group:
PV > Get-DomainGroup -Identity “Remote Desktop Users”
And of course, hackers always check members of Domain and Enterprise Admins:
PV > Get-DomainGroupMember -Identity “Domain Admins”
Login Sessions
Windows supports enumeration of logged-on sessions via the registry. You can list currently logged-on users with:
PV > Get-RegLoggedOn -Computer IP/NAME
This becomes very useful if you have admin rights and are waiting for a privileged login.
Shares
Many sensitive files live on network shares. To enumerate them:
PV > Get-NetShare -Computer IP/NAME
Exchange Servers
You can also enumerate Exchange servers using:
PV > Get-ExchangeServer -Properties cn,serialNumber
Exchange remains a high-value target because of long-lasting exploit chains such as ProxyShell, which historically allowed attackers to gain access without valid credentials. Once inside, they could enumerate email addresses, escalate to SYSTEM, dump hashes and wait for a domain admin to log in. At that point the domain is effectively compromised.
Vulnerabilities
PowerView also identifies certain vulnerability indicators automatically in its outputs. You can quickly detect misconfigurations.
Summary
These examples are only a small part of what powerview.py is capable of. The tool also supports DFSCoerce, PrinterBug and several Kerberos-related attacks. The sheer volume of information you can extract using only a low privileged account is enormous. That is why we strongly recommend powerview.py for both defenders and red teamers. Defenders gain the ability to see their domain from the attacker’s perspective. This often exposes weaknesses that tools like RSAT do not make obvious.
Reconnaissance may not feel exciting at first, but it is the true foundation of effective security work. When you learn to listen to what the domain is already telling you, the path forward becomes much clearer.
If you want to advance your Linux skills in a penetration testing environment, or you are planning to take the OSCP exam, you need to be creative with how you use your Linux machine. We offer Advanced Linux training for Subscriber Pro students. It is a live training taking place February 17-19 at 4 PM UTC.
Source: HackersArise
Source Link: https://hackers-arise.com/linux-powerview-for-linux-how-hackers-enumerate-domains/