Using “net”

author: Nathan Acks
date: 2022-08-24

The Windows net command is an older (but still useful) CLI multitool.

net users - enumerate all local users
net user $USER - retrieve information about the local user $USER
net users /domain - enumerate domain users
net user $USER /domain - retrieve information about the domain user $USER
net localgroup - enumerate local groups
net localgroup $GROUP - show members of local group $GROUP (try with administrators!)
net group /domain - enumerate domain groups
net group $GROUP /domain - show members (users only!) of domain group $GROUP (try with Domain Admins!)

Note that Windows allows for duplicate domain and local users; this is why users get prefixed by the domain or local machine name. Comparing the output of whoami and hostname will reveal if you’re logged in with a local or domain account.

Remember that net group $GROUP /domain doesn’t show which domain groups are members of $GROUP, and thus will miss domain admins whose membership is controlled by a nested group. The only way to retrieve a full list of users in a domain group is to use PowerShell.