WinRM (Windows Remote Management) is Microsoft's implementation of WS-Management in Windows which allows systems to access or exchange management information across a common network. Utilizing scripting objects or the built-in command-line tool, WinRM can be used with any remote computers that may have baseboard management controllers (BMCs) to acquire data. On Windows-based computers including WinRM, certain data supplied by Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) can also be obtained.[1]
Developer(s) | Microsoft |
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Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
Type | Command |
License | Proprietary commercial software |
Website | docs |
Ansible communicates with Windows servers over WinRM using the Python pywinrm package and can remotely run PowerShell scripts and commands.[4]
Thycotic's Secret Server also leverages WinRM to enable PowerShell remoting.[5]
SolarWinds Server and Application Monitoring software (SAM) utilizes a WinRM server on monitored servers for its PowerShell integration.[6]
CloudBolt leverages WinRM as part of Blueprints, Server Actions, and CB Plugins to execute remote scripts on Windows servers using the python pywinrm module.[7]
WinRM uses Kerberos for initial authentication by default. This ensures that actual credentials are never sent in client-server communications, instead relying on features such as hashing and tickets to connect.[8] Although WinRM listeners can be configured to encrypt all communications using HTTPS, with the use of Kerberos, even if unencrypted HTTP is used, all communication is still encrypted using a symmetric 256-bit key after the authentication phase completes. Using HTTPS with WinRM allows for additional security by ensuring server identity via SSL/TLS certificates thereby preventing an attacker from impersonating it.[9]
File system navigation | |
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File management | |
Archiving | |
Disk management | |
Processes | |
Registry | |
User environment | |
File contents | |
Scripting | |
Networking | |
Maintenance and care | |
Boot management | |
Software development | |
Miscellaneous | |