.. _community.windows.psexec_module: ************************ community.windows.psexec ************************ **Runs commands on a remote Windows host based on the PsExec model** .. contents:: :local: :depth: 1 Synopsis -------- - Runs a remote command from a Linux host to a Windows host without WinRM being set up. - Can be run on the Ansible controller to bootstrap Windows hosts to get them ready for WinRM. Requirements ------------ The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module. - pypsexec - smbprotocol[kerberos] for optional Kerberos authentication Parameters ---------- .. raw:: html
Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
arguments
string
Any arguments as a single string to use when running the executable.
asynchronous
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Will run the command as a detached process and the module returns immediately after starting the process while the process continues to run in the background.
The stdout and stderr return values will be null when this is set to yes.
The stdin option does not work with this type of process.
The rc return value is not set when this is yes
connection_password
string
The password for connection_user.
Required if the Kerberos requirements are not installed or the username is a local account to the Windows host.
Can be omitted to use a Kerberos principal ticket for the principal set by connection_user if the Kerberos library is installed and the ticket has already been retrieved with the kinit command before.
connection_timeout
integer
Default:
60
The timeout in seconds to wait when receiving the initial SMB negotiate response from the server.
connection_username
string
The username to use when connecting to the remote Windows host.
This user must be a member of the Administrators group of the Windows host.
Required if the Kerberos requirements are not installed or the username is a local account to the Windows host.
Can be omitted to use the default Kerberos principal ticket in the local credential cache if the Kerberos library is installed.
If process_username is not specified, then the remote process will run under a Network Logon under this account.
encrypt
boolean
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes ←
Will use SMB encryption to encrypt the SMB messages sent to and from the host.
This requires the SMB 3 protocol which is only supported from Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8, older versions like Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 (R2) must set this to no and use no encryption.
When setting to no, the packets are in plaintext and can be seen by anyone sniffing the network, any process options are included in this.
executable
string / required
The executable to run on the Windows host.
hostname
string / required
The remote Windows host to connect to, can be either an IP address or a hostname.
integrity_level
string
    Choices:
  • limited
  • default ←
  • elevated
The integrity level of the process when process_username is defined and is not equal to System.
When default, the default integrity level based on the system setup.
When elevated, the command will be run with Administrative rights.
When limited, the command will be forced to run with non-Administrative rights.
interactive
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Will run the process as an interactive process that shows a process Window of the Windows session specified by interactive_session.
The stdout and stderr return values will be null when this is set to yes.
The stdin option does not work with this type of process.
interactive_session
integer
Default:
0
The Windows session ID to use when displaying the interactive process on the remote Windows host.
This is only valid when interactive is yes.
The default is 0 which is the console session of the Windows host.
load_profile
boolean
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes ←
Runs the remote command with the user's profile loaded.
port
integer
Default:
445
The port that the remote SMB service is listening on.
priority
string
    Choices:
  • above_normal
  • below_normal
  • high
  • idle
  • normal ←
  • realtime
Set the command's priority on the Windows host.
See https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms683211.aspx for more details.
process_password
string
The password for process_username.
Required if process_username is defined and not System.
process_timeout
integer
Default:
0
The timeout in seconds that is placed upon the running process.
A value of 0 means no timeout.
process_username
string
The user to run the process as.
This can be set to run the process under an Interactive logon of the specified account which bypasses limitations of a Network logon used when this isn't specified.
If omitted then the process is run under the same account as connection_username with a Network logon.
Set to System to run as the builtin SYSTEM account, no password is required with this account.
If encrypt is no, the username and password are sent as a simple XOR scrambled byte string that is not encrypted. No special tools are required to get the username and password just knowledge of the protocol.
show_ui_on_logon_screen
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Shows the process UI on the Winlogon secure desktop when process_username is System.
stdin
string
Data to send on the stdin pipe once the process has started.
This option has no effect when interactive or asynchronous is yes.
working_directory
string
Default:
"C:\\Windows\\System32"
Changes the working directory set when starting the process.

Notes ----- .. note:: - This module requires the Windows host to have SMB configured and enabled, and port 445 opened on the firewall. - This module will wait until the process is finished unless *asynchronous* is ``yes``, ensure the process is run as a non-interactive command to avoid infinite hangs waiting for input. - The *connection_username* must be a member of the local Administrator group of the Windows host. For non-domain joined hosts, the ``LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy`` should be set to ``1`` to ensure this works, see https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/951016/description-of-user-account-control-and-remote-restrictions-in-windows. - For more information on this module and the various host requirements, see https://github.com/jborean93/pypsexec. See Also -------- .. seealso:: :ref:`ansible.builtin.raw_module` The official documentation on the **ansible.builtin.raw** module. :ref:`ansible.windows.win_command_module` The official documentation on the **ansible.windows.win_command** module. :ref:`community.windows.win_psexec_module` The official documentation on the **community.windows.win_psexec** module. :ref:`ansible.windows.win_shell_module` The official documentation on the **ansible.windows.win_shell** module. Examples -------- .. code-block:: yaml - name: Run a cmd.exe command community.windows.psexec: hostname: server connection_username: username connection_password: password executable: cmd.exe arguments: /c echo Hello World - name: Run a PowerShell command community.windows.psexec: hostname: server.domain.local connection_username: username@DOMAIN.LOCAL connection_password: password executable: powershell.exe arguments: Write-Host Hello World - name: Send data through stdin community.windows.psexec: hostname: 192.168.1.2 connection_username: username connection_password: password executable: powershell.exe arguments: '-' stdin: | Write-Host Hello World Write-Error Error Message exit 0 - name: Run the process as a different user community.windows.psexec: hostname: server connection_user: username connection_password: password executable: whoami.exe arguments: /all process_username: anotheruser process_password: anotherpassword - name: Run the process asynchronously community.windows.psexec: hostname: server connection_username: username connection_password: password executable: cmd.exe arguments: /c rmdir C:\temp asynchronous: yes - name: Use Kerberos authentication for the connection (requires smbprotocol[kerberos]) community.windows.psexec: hostname: host.domain.local connection_username: user@DOMAIN.LOCAL executable: C:\some\path\to\executable.exe arguments: /s - name: Disable encryption to work with WIndows 7/Server 2008 (R2) community.windows.psexec: hostanme: windows-pc connection_username: Administrator connection_password: Password01 encrypt: no integrity_level: elevated process_username: Administrator process_password: Password01 executable: powershell.exe arguments: (New-Object -ComObject Microsoft.Update.Session).CreateUpdateInstaller().IsBusy - name: Download and run ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1 to setup WinRM community.windows.psexec: hostname: '{{ hostvars[inventory_hostname]["ansible_host"] | default(inventory_hostname) }}' connection_username: '{{ ansible_user }}' connection_password: '{{ ansible_password }}' encrypt: yes executable: powershell.exe arguments: '-' stdin: | $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop" $sec_protocols = [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol -bor [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::SystemDefault $sec_protocols = $sec_protocols -bor [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12 [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = $sec_protocols $url = "https://github.com/ansible/ansible/raw/devel/examples/scripts/ConfigureRemotingForAnsible.ps1" Invoke-Expression ((New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadString($url)) exit delegate_to: localhost Return Values ------------- Common return values are documented `here `_, the following are the fields unique to this module: .. raw:: html
Key Returned Description
msg
string
module failed
Any exception details when trying to run the process

Sample:
Received exception from remote PAExec service: Failed to start "invalid.exe". The system cannot find the file specified. [Err=0x2, 2]
pid
integer
success and asynchronous is 'yes'
The process ID of the asynchronous process that was created

Sample:
719
rc
integer
success and asynchronous is 'no'
The return code of the remote process
stderr
string
success and interactive or asynchronous is 'no'
The stderr from the remote process

Sample:
Error [10] running process
stdout
string
success and interactive or asynchronous is 'no'
The stdout from the remote process

Sample:
Hello World


Status ------ Authors ~~~~~~~ - Jordan Borean (@jborean93)