How to use Powershell to download and pipe to execution with arguments

Question

I am trying to use powershell to download and execute a file with arguments:

. { iwr -useb https://github.com/int0x33/nc.exe/blob/master/nc64.exe?raw=true } | iex; <IP> 9001

I get this error:

Unexpected token '9001' in expression or statement.
    + CategoryInfo          : ParserError: (:) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnexpectedToken

Any help appreciated.

If you want to download you should be using `-OutFile` – Santiago Squarzon Jul 25 '21 at 23:05 — Santiago Squarzon, Jul 25 '21 at 23:05

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 25 '21 at 23:05

Invoke-Expression (ie) is for interpreting and executing text as PowerShell code^[1] - you can't use it to execute a binary download directly (which PowerShell fundamentally doesn't support).

Instead, use Invoke-WebRequest's (iwr's) -OutFile parameter to download the binary content to a local file and execute the latter:

iwr -useb https://github.com/int0x33/nc.exe/blob/master/nc64.exe?raw=true -OutFile ./nc64.exe

./nc64.exe $someIp 9001

^{[1] The obligatory warning: Invoke-Expression (iex) should generally be avoided and used only as a last resort, due to its inherent security risks. Superior alternatives are usually available. If there truly is no alternative, only ever use it on input you either provided yourself or fully trust - see this answer.}

How to use Powershell to download and pipe to execution with arguments

1 Answers1