rpcclient

rpcclient is a command-line tool that allows you to interact with the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) service on a Windows or Samba server. It is a part of the Samba suite of tools and is primarily used to communicate with a Windows server or Samba share via the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol.

The rpcclient tool provides a way to query, configure, and interact with various aspects of the Windows network environment, such as user and group information, services, shares, and more.

Overview of rpcclient

rpcclient allows you to interact with and manage the Windows RPC services on remote systems. It can perform tasks such as listing users, querying shares, and managing accounts on a Windows server or Samba domain controller.

It is commonly used for:

• Enumerating shares and users on a server.

• Querying user groups and managing user accounts.

• Performing administrative tasks on remote machines.

• Checking for service status and other system-level information.

General Syntax

rpcclient [OPTIONS] <hostname> -U <username>

Where:

• hostname is the name or IP address of the remote Windows or Samba machine.

• -U <username> specifies the username to authenticate with (can include domain, e.g., domain\user).

Common rpcclient Commands

1. Connecting to a Remote Host: To connect to a remote Windows or Samba machine, you need to specify the machine's hostname or IP and provide a username (and optionally a password).

   rpcclient <hostname> -U <username>

   Example:

   rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator

2. Listing Shares on a Remote Server: You can list all shared resources (shares) available on the server.

   rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "netshareenum"

   Example:

   rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "netshareenum"

3. Enumerating Users: To list all users on the remote machine:

   rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "enumdomusers"

   Example:

   rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "enumdomusers"

4. Querying Groups: To list the groups on the remote server:

   rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "enumdomgroups"

   Example:

   rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "enumdomgroups"

5. Getting Information About a Specific User: You can retrieve information about a specific user, such as their SID (Security Identifier).

   rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "queryuser <username>"

   Example:

   rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "queryuser john"

6. Changing User Password: To change the password for a user:

   rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "changepassword <target_user> <new_password>"

   Example:

   rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "changepassword john newpassword123"

7. Checking Shares and Permissions: You can query the shares and permissions for a given share:

   rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "netshareenumall"

   Example:

   rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "netshareenumall"

8. Listing User Groups for a Specific User: To get the groups a user belongs to:

   rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "getdomgroups <username>"

   Example:

   rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "getdomgroups john"

9. Listing Available Services on a Remote Machine: To list all active services on the remote system:

   rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "srvsvc"

   Example:

   rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "srvsvc"

10. Executing Commands on Remote Machines: Some versions of rpcclient allow for running commands remotely. You can use this feature to execute processes or scripts on remote systems.

Advanced Commands

• net share: This command allows you to manage network shares, including creating or deleting shares.

  rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "net share <share_name> /delete"

• adduser: Adds a user to the remote system. Typically used for administrative tasks like adding new users remotely.

  rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "adduser <username> <password>"

• addgroup: Adds a group to the remote machine.

  rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "addgroup <groupname>"

• deluser: Removes a user from the remote machine.

  rpcclient <hostname> -U <username> -c "deluser <username>"

Example Use Cases

1. List available shares on a server:

rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "netshareenum"

2. List all users in the domain:

rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "enumdomusers"

3. Query information about a specific user:

rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "queryuser john"

4. Change the password of a user:

rpcclient 192.168.1.10 -U administrator -c "changepassword john newpassword123"

Security Considerations

• Authentication: rpcclient requires authentication (username and password). Ensure that credentials are securely managed.

• Permissions: Use of rpcclient requires appropriate permissions on the remote machine. Administrative privileges are often necessary to perform tasks like modifying user passwords, creating/deleting shares, etc.

• Network Access: Since rpcclient communicates over SMB (Port 445), ensure that the necessary ports are open and accessible between the client and the remote machine.

Conclusion

rpcclient is an essential tool for interacting with Windows servers or Samba shares over the network. It can perform a wide variety of administrative tasks remotely, including querying system information, managing users and shares, and configuring services.