How to Break Out of Hyper-V and Compromise Your Admins

The blog post from Truesec discusses vulnerabilities associated with PowerShell Remoting and PowerShell Direct, which are commonly used for managing IT environments. These protocols utilize a serialization format called CLIXML, which can be exploited due to a trust issue with remote systems providing legitimate data. The article highlights how an attacker can compromise an administrator's computer by manipulating the data returned when an admin connects to a compromised server or virtual machine. This can lead to privilege escalation and lateral movement within a network, allowing attackers to steal sensitive information, such as password hashes. The post also details the timeline of reporting these vulnerabilities to Microsoft and the subsequent acknowledgment of the issue. Although Microsoft has stated that the issue has been fixed, the author expresses concerns that the vulnerabilities may still be exploitable. Recommendations for mitigating these risks include ensuring systems are fully patched, using dedicated workstations for administrative tasks, and being cautious with third-party PowerShell modules. The article emphasizes the importance of maintaining a secure environment when using PowerShell Remoting and Direct.

- PowerShell Remoting and Direct are vulnerable to exploitation through untrusted CLIXML deserialization.

- Attackers can compromise admin systems by manipulating data during remote connections.

- Microsoft acknowledged the vulnerabilities but concerns remain about their resolution.

- Recommendations include using dedicated workstations and reviewing PowerShell modules for security.

- Organizations should remain vigilant and implement security measures to mitigate risks.