Windows API call - ties2/Red-Team GitHub Wiki

Windows API calls are fundamental to the functionality and operation of the Windows operating system, providing a standardized interface for software applications to interact with the underlying system. In the realm of red teaming and penetration testing, understanding and leveraging these API calls can be instrumental for simulating real-world attacks, identifying vulnerabilities, and testing the resilience of a system against malicious activities. This essay explores a selection of Windows API calls commonly utilized in red teaming scenarios, shedding light on their functionalities and providing examples of how they can be integrated with red teaming tools.

Commonly Used Windows API Calls:

  1. CreateProcess: Functionality: Launches a new process or application. Red Team Integration: Used to execute payloads, initiate command shells, or launch additional tools for lateral movement.

  2. VirtualAllocEx / WriteProcessMemory: Functionality: Allocates memory in a remote process and writes data to that memory. Red Team Integration: Facilitates reflective DLL injection, allowing for the injection of code or payloads into a target process.

  3. CreateRemoteThread: Functionality: Creates a thread in the address space of another process. Red Team Integration: Enables the execution of code within a remote process, often used for stealthy injection techniques.

  4. LoadLibrary / GetProcAddress:

  • Functionality: Loads a DLL into a process and retrieves the address of an exported function.
  • Red Team Integration: Used for injecting dynamic-link libraries into processes to extend functionality or hide malicious code.
  1. ShellExecute:
  • Functionality: Performs operations such as opening, printing, or exploring a file.
  • Red Team Integration: Launches malicious URLs, files, or scripts, mimicking real-world scenarios of social engineering attacks.

Registry and Configuration:

RegOpenKeyEx / RegQueryValueEx:

  • Functionality: Opens a registry key and retrieves data associated with a registry key’s value.
  • Red Team Integration: Accesses and modifies registry keys for configuration and information retrieval.

Network and Communication:

InternetOpen / InternetOpenUrl:

  • Functionality: Initializes the use of WinINet functions and opens a URL.
  • Red Team Integration: Establishes internet connections for downloading additional payloads or sending/receiving data.

Service Manipulation:

CreateService / StartService / ControlService:

  • Functionality: Creates, starts, and controls services.
  • Red Team Integration: Installs and manipulates services for persistence and stealth in the target environment.

Process and Memory Management:

EnumServicesStatus / CreateMutex:

  • Functionality: Enumerates services and creates or opens a named mutex object.
  • Red Team Integration: Retrieves information about installed services and ensures single-instance execution.

CreateFileMapping / MapViewOfFile:

  • Functionality: Creates a file-mapping object and maps a view of a file into the address space of a process.
  • Red Team Integration: Facilitates shared memory communication between processes.

Advanced Techniques:

SetWindowsHookEx:

  • Functionality: Installs an application-defined hook procedure into a hook chain.
  • Red Team Integration: Monitors and intercepts events system-wide, useful for capturing sensitive information like keystrokes.

NtCreateThreadEx / ZwWriteVirtualMemory / ZwCreateSection:

  • Functionality: Advanced thread creation and memory manipulation.
  • Red Team Integration: Employed in more sophisticated scenarios for process injection and code execution.