MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise
T1059.012
enhancement

Hypervisor CLI

Parent: T1059

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).

Mapped SPARTA techniques

No techniques mapped to this control.

Cite as SafeMode Space, mitre-attack-enterprise T1059.012.

Built 2026-07-25 from 216 techniques, 334 regulation articles, 125 ENISA controls, 2,610 framework controls, and 90 countermeasures.