WinPEAS: Windows Privilege Escalation Tool Overview

 WinPEAS

(Windows Privilege Escalation Awsome Script)

WinPEAS (Windows Privilege Escalation Awesome Script) is a powerful post-exploitation tool used primarily by penetration testers, ethical hackers, and red teamers to identify privilege escalation opportunities on Windows systems. Here's a detailed breakdown of its purpose, functionality, and usage:

What Is WinPEAS?

WinPEAS is part of the PEASS-ng suite developed by Carlos Polop. It automates scanning Windows systems for misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and security weaknesses that could allow a low-privileged user to escalate their privileges. 

Key Features

• Automated Enumeration: Scans for privilege escalation vectors across services, registry, file permissions, scheduled tasks, and more.
• Color-Coded Output: Highlights critical findings in red, informative ones in green, and other categories in blue, cyan, and yellow for quick visual analysis. [manageengine.com]
• Lightweight & Versatile: Available in .exe, .ps1, and .bat formats, compatible with both x86 and x64 architectures.
• Offline Analysis: Output can be saved for later review.
• Minimal Privilege Requirement: Can run without admin rights and still gather valuable system data.

Privilege Escalation Vectors Detected

WinPEAS identifies a wide range of potential vulnerabilities, including:

• Unquoted Service Paths: Services with paths not enclosed in quotes can be exploited to run malicious executables.
• Weak Service Permissions: Services that can be modified by non-admin users.
• Registry Misconfigurations: Keys like AlwaysInstallElevated that allow MSI files to run with admin privileges.
• Writable Directories & Files: Identifies locations where low-privileged users can write or modify files.
• DLL Hijacking Opportunities: Detects insecure DLL loading paths.
• Scheduled Tasks: Finds misconfigured or vulnerable scheduled tasks.
• Token Privileges: Checks for powerful privileges like SeDebugPrivilege or SeImpersonatePrivilege. 

WinPEAS Variants

• winPEAS.exe: C# executable, requires .NET ≥ 4.5.2.
• winPEAS.ps1: PowerShell script version.
• winPEAS.bat: Batch script version for basic enumeration.

Each variant is suited for different environments and levels of access. The .exe version is the most feature-rich. 

Execution Steps

1. Download: Get the latest version from the https://github.com/peass-ng/PEASS-ng/releases/latest.

2. Transfer to Target: Use SMB, reverse shell, or HTTP server.

3. Run the Tool:

Or redirect output:

4. Analyze Output: Focus on red-highlighted sections for critical escalation paths.

Use Cases

• CTFs and Training Labs
• Internal Penetration Tests
• Real-World Breach Simulations
• Security Audits