gpscript.exe
Sources: 300M+ executions observed in the wild.
Summary
Group Policy Script processor - executes startup, shutdown, logon, and logoff scripts defined by Group Policy.
gpscript.exe is the 443rd most commonly executed Windows program in EchoTrail's dataset, observed 15,042 times across enterprise environments. It typically runs from C:\Windows\System32 and it is most often launched by svchost.exe.
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Behavior
Top Paths
- C:\Windows\System32100%
Top Hashes (SHA256)
- 9bee9552a3eace31064d0b701cced81df8668cd3732fbe37ff62e70c1c51a63944.47%
- ff6a8dce772ee184086311e08588a4d8bc1202996b0e315bb83156025d54b52612.52%
- d13b4e6050f38c23fe9be98cf95600a1f49f889e1e53bb17ff2ac39a1206dda08.43%
- 12f5f10191d57918a30780c76b45808df17edecfb2e6007e2bbd0fbfafcb5d4c7.26%
- 8beec3990687ecbddf7a7e2a4278f8c220314688f914c5d87280a55a97fb6dfa5.84%
- bb008deed1241ead9f245661d2cd629d02031433b614cdc2cd7b1291a753a6a75.53%
- 4b812fbef7c67917ced893a8d2080bc1a6d4231a24fb42d383744768e5ff05083.83%
- f64347b76cec0bc7825471874a4a30df81baaed99e3f14ba707fb9daecc14e303.38%
- 3f00c0359e849d5897b576db4077145d4bd089e71afdcbc172082fc3b0d607072.28%
- 9ca0e176e0da14a3d8f6ff1437207d23ba09a94bbdef22036e9716f96c62f2f81.87%
Process Ancestry
Top Grandparents
- services.exe100%
Top Parents
- svchost.exe99.32%
Top Children
- cmd.exe65.23%
- powershell.exe34.77%
Security Analysis
What does gpscript.exe normally do?
Runs during startup/shutdown and logon/logoff to execute Group Policy-defined scripts. Spawns cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or cscript.exe to run the configured scripts.
When is gpscript.exe suspicious?
Running outside of logon/logoff or startup/shutdown events. Executing scripts from unusual paths. Running when Group Policy is not expected to refresh.
How do attackers abuse gpscript.exe?
Attackers with domain admin access can add malicious startup/logon scripts via Group Policy that gpscript.exe will execute on all domain-joined machines.
Detection guidance
Monitor Group Policy script paths for unauthorized modifications. Correlate gpscript.exe execution with expected GPO refresh times.
False positive notes
Normal Group Policy operations. Scripts run at every logon/logoff and at configured refresh intervals.
MITRE ATT&CK techniques
Related Processes
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