MITRE ATT&CK Technique
T1059.012Hypervisor CLI
- First Reported
- Mar 20, 2026
- Latest Reported
- Mar 20, 2026
Official Description
Adversaries may abuse hypervisor command line interpreters (CLIs) to execute malicious commands. Hypervisor CLIs typically enable a wide variety of functionality for managing both the hypervisor itself and the guest virtual machines it hosts.
For example, on ESXi systems, tools such as `esxcli` and `vim-cmd` allow administrators to configure firewall rules and log forwarding on the hypervisor, list virtual machines, start and stop virtual machines, and more.(Citation: Broadcom ESXCLI Reference)(Citation: Crowdstrike Hypervisor Jackpotting Pt 2 2021)(Citation: LOLESXi) Adversaries may be able to leverage these tools in order to support further actions, such as [File and Directory Discovery](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1083) or [Data Encrypted for Impact](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1486).
For example, on ESXi systems, tools such as `esxcli` and `vim-cmd` allow administrators to configure firewall rules and log forwarding on the hypervisor, list virtual machines, start and stop virtual machines, and more.(Citation: Broadcom ESXCLI Reference)(Citation: Crowdstrike Hypervisor Jackpotting Pt 2 2021)(Citation: LOLESXi) Adversaries may be able to leverage these tools in order to support further actions, such as [File and Directory Discovery](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1083) or [Data Encrypted for Impact](https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1486).
- Tactics
- Execution
- Platforms
- ESXi
- Parent Technique
- T1059 · Command and Scripting Interpreter
- MITRE Version
- 1.0
- Last Modified
- Apr 15, 2025
Reported Context (1)
- The article describes a script being executed but does not identify the scripting language. Wiz Describes Runtime Detection of AI-Agent Attacks Across Model, Workload, and Cloud
MITRE ATT&CK (14)
Vendors (1)
Products (1)
Note: Related entities, including threat actors, malware, CVEs, MITRE ATT&CK techniques, vendors, products, tools, countries, and industries, are shown when they appear in the same reporting. Their presence does not necessarily mean they were targeted, compromised, vulnerable, responsible for the activity, or directly involved in the incident.