Why do I need "Unblock-File" even though execution policy is RemoteSigned? - powershell

I have a batch file that calls powershell script and runs it.
Powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -File %1
%1 argument is the file_name.ps1
When i run it from my local drive, the script runs fine.
however, I moved the scripts to run on a shared drive, and when i try running it from there, it gives this kind of prompt before proceeding:
The problem with this is autosys has to bypass this prompt, otherwise its giving error.
But why is this even an issue in the shared drive when if i run the script on local drive it doesn't prompt this? and what should i do to resolve it?
I tried passing in the Unblock-File -Path some_path in powershell but its apparently not recognized cmdlet.

Ok, so after being unable to load the zone identification for the file, I tried ByPass policy instead as follows:
Powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -File %1
THAT made it work....instead of RemoteSigned/Unrestricted...
Based on MSDN article here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_execution_policies?view=powershell-6
RemoteSigned: Scripts can run.
Requires a digital signature from a trusted publisher on scripts and
configuration files that are downloaded from the Internet (including
e-mail and instant messaging programs).
Does not require digital signatures on scripts that you have written
on the local computer (not downloaded from the Internet).
Runs scripts that are downloaded from the Internet and not signed, if
the scripts are unblocked, such as by using the Unblock-File cmdlet.
Unrestricted: Unsigned scripts can run. (This risks running malicious
scripts.)
Warns the user before running scripts and configuration files that are
downloaded from the Internet.
but my script was copied locally there from one drive to another, its not downloaded from the internet...and in the file properties, there was no "Unblock" button, and Unblock cmdlet wouldnt work for me anyways.
So to avoid the warning, the only thing that worked is ByPass
Bypass: Nothing is blocked and there are no warnings or prompts.

Related

PowerShell on Target Machines -TFS task, Security Warning persists after changing execution policy in remote server

I am pulling my hairs as I could not figure out what happens in powershell on target machine task (v1.0 and 2.0) in my release.
every time I run the task, it throws me the error:
AuthorizationManager check failed. ---> System.Management.Automation.PSSecurityException: AuthorizationManager check failed. ---> System.Management.Automation.Host.HostException: A command that prompts the user failed because the host program or the command type does not support user interaction. The host was attempting to request confirmation with the following message: Run only scripts that you trust. While scripts from the internet can be useful, this script can potentially harm your computer. If you trust this script, use the Unblock-File cmdlet to allow the script to run without this warning message. Do you want to run \\server\c$\Program Files\exampleps.ps1?
I understand this may relate to execution policy, so this is what I have done so far trying to solve the issue:
I went in the remote server and turned off IE enhanced security for admins, as the service account to run this script is admin
Shift+Right-click powershell to run as service account and changed execution policy from remotesigned to bypass. performed this action in both 32 and 64bit powershell. Bypass was set to local machine and current user
Added the \server\c$\Program Files\exampleps.ps1 to trusted site under internet options
I have tried to google and stackoverflow similar questions and these are what I found.
Update
After trying all 3 methods above, even when I try to run the ps script directly in console, the security warning still shows up. For some reasons, the bypass execution policy doesn't kick in. --I was able to run it in console without warnings, however, tfs task still failed
I am really frustrated and I hope anyone in the community can give me some guidance on the this.
Much appreciated.
Please try the following ways to see if they can work:
Use the "Bypass" Execution Policy Flag
PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File \server\c$\Program Files\exampleps.ps1
Read Script from the File and Pipe to PowerShell Standard In
Get-Content \server\c$\Program Files\exampleps.ps1 | PowerShell.exe -noprofile -
Use the Invoke-Expression Command
Get-Content \server\c$\Program Files\exampleps.ps1 | Invoke-Expression
Use the "Unrestricted" Execution Policy Flag
PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File \server\c$\Program Files\exampleps.ps1
There also are few other ways you can try. To view more details, you can reference to "15 Ways to Bypass the PowerShell Execution Policy".

Execute PowerShell script from network folder

I'm developing a quite large automatic build in TFS2017 with a local VSTS build machine. My custom tasks will be mostly in PowerShell.
The inline PowerShell task handles only 500 or so characters and is too small to use for most tasks. Right now I'm editing my Powershell script, check it in, test run, read log for errors, correct, check in again and so on.
This is a bit tedious and I wonder if there are any options. I would like to avoid checking in each change in the script. Are there any options like executing my Powershell tasks from a network location during development of the build process?
You can specify UNC file path in PowerShell task.
You also can store the script files in a server (e.g. FTP), then download the file to working directory during build through PowerShell or others task.
On the other hand, there is PowerShell on Target machines task that can execute PowerShell scripts on remote machines.
You can use dot sourcing with your UNC path:
PS> . \\server\path\to\your\scriptmcscript.ps1
or use the invocation operator:
& \\server\path\to\your\scriptmcscript.ps1
You can use UNC path for the file with Powershell Task.
Or you could use the Powershell on target machine to run it.
But be careful about your choice. You have to keep in mind that who is running your script is the build/deployment agent. So while you are running it in your corporate network everything will be fine, because your agent can see your UNC path.
The moment you use that agent on a machine outside your network you will have to think about another solution, which may include saving your powershell file to a repo like Git or TFVC and then download the file to the local computer where you are running the agent.
This is the only way that works for me, call PowerShell from a .batch script with execution policy set to bypass (scope - process only)
-NonInteractive = do not prompt for confirm
-NoProfile = run under system context
powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -NonInteractive -Command C:\Users\User\Script.ps1

Powershell does not create a folder when I run a script. What's wrong?

I'm trying to have powershell create a folder for me and it works fine when I type it into the console. However, when I run the same command as a script, no folder is created and no error messages are supplied.
This is the line of code I am using.
new-item - path c:\test\ -name testfolder -itemtype directory
edit: I am on Windows 7
This should be a comment, but I cannot comment. There is definitely nothing wrong with that line of code. It runs on my machine, either from the terminal window or as a script. Because the code works for you at the terminal window but not when executing as a script my first guess is that your system may be configured to disallow powershell scripts. This is the default setting, and it will prevent a script file from executing but will not prevent commands typed at the prompt from working. Open a powershell session and type get-executionpolicy. If it returns "restricted" then you have found the culprit. This setting can be changed by opening an elevated powershell session (run as admin) and typing set-executionpolicy -executionpolicy RemoteSigned. Of course you should read about what those settings mean before changing them to determine what is best for your situation. For example the remotesigned option means that scripts originating from your machine will execute without a trusted signature, but external scripts will require a signature.

Unsigned Powershell scripts from HTA

I have created the below batch file and it works flawlessly as long as I run it manually.
However, if I run the .bat file from a HTA application, PowerShell says that he can't run the script because it is not signed/not trusted: "File cannot be loaded because the execution of scripts is disabled on this system".
Is there any fix/workaround for this without having to actually sign the script?
Batch file:
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -noexit -command ". '%cd%\temp_oooscript\wrapper.ps1'"
Thank you.
This problem is caused by Windows Execution-policy setting.
To check what policy is running type this command:
Get-ExecutionPolicy
You policy should be one of these 4:
Restricted - No scripts can be run. Windows PowerShell can be used only in interactive mode.
AllSigned - Only scripts signed by a trusted publisher can be run.
RemoteSigned - Downloaded scripts must be signed by a trusted publisher before they can be run.
Unrestricted - No restrictions; all Windows PowerShell scripts can be run.
Not sure you are running remotely or locally.
If locally then your policy might be "all signed".
If remotely then your policy might be "RemoteSigned" or "all signed".
To fix the problem, 2 ways:
Adjust the policy setting. Don't make it too loose like unrestricted (I assume it is a medium to large production environment). The same reason if this is true I don't pro the bypass way by Graimer.
If this is a lab or small and trusted env then "unrestricted" can be an option. Or the bypass method proposed by Graimer.
Get the script signed.You need to run some "makecert" stuff to generate the signature and then copy it to the machine. The following link might help:
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/SigningPowerShellScripts.aspx
Try setting the exeuctionpolicy for powershell to bypass when executing it. Like this:
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -noexit -executionpolicy bypass -command ". '%cd%\temp_oooscript\wrapper.ps1'"
The reason you're seing this is most likely because the HTA application is run as a 32 bit software, while your os is 64bit. Because the HTA app is running as 32 bit, it uses the powershell in C:\windows\syswow64\windowspowershell... (even though you specified system32 in your code). The execution policy there has is it's own setting, seperate from what you have in your normal 64-bit powershell.
The best way to fix it would be to sign the script using the PKI infrastructure in your enviroment. As a workaround you can use the code I provided above. The advantage for the workaround above is that the executionpolicy is only set to bypass ("disabled") for the PROCESS, and not as a default setting that could compromise security.
YES!! Found the bloody solution!! the HTA file needs to be run from through the mshta.exe from system32 instead of SysWOW64. Woohoo!!!

Why is my locally-created script not allowed to run under the RemoteSigned execution policy?

Since this question continues to attract responses that are either
refuted by the question body or don't address the actual problem,
please read this simple summary of what you need to know:
This is not a "Why won't my default installation of PowerShell run scripts?" question.
This is not a "Why won't my installation of PowerShell run scripts downloaded from the internet?" question.
The question is why the RemoteSigned execution policy is preventing script execution when it shouldn't.
RemoteSigned is the only execution policy I want to use. I am aware that other, less-restrictive policies are available. If
those policies were acceptable substitutes I would have just used them
instead and this question wouldn't exist.
The execution policy is already set to RemoteSigned. Changing it from RemoteSigned to RemoteSigned is not a solution.
The script file is created and stored locally.
The script file is not blocked. The script file was never blocked (see previous point).
The script file cannot be unblocked because there is nothing to unblock (see previous point).
The script file is (attempted to be) executed by an administrator.
Windows PowerShell is the only application involved. Not Windows PowerShell ISE nor Command Prompt nor any other tools or
editors are relevant.
The cause of the problem has already been identified (see accepted answer). After nearly 8 years, I think all other obvious
explanations, whether applicable or not, have been posted, too. If
you think otherwise then please read the question and existing
answers in their entirety before adding yours.
I am using Windows PowerShell 2.0 on 64-bit Windows 7 Professional. I have a script on my Desktop that causes the following error when I try to run it:
File C:\Users\UserName\Desktop\Script.ps1 cannot be loaded. The file C:\Users\UserName\Desktop\Script.ps1 is not digitally signed. The script will not execute on the system. Please see "get-help about_signing" for more details..
At line:1 char:54
+ C:\Users\UserName\Desktop\TestGetWindowsUpdateLog.ps1 <<<<
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [], PSSecurityException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : RuntimeException
I am both a domain administrator and a local administrator, and if I run Get-ExecutionPolicy -List, I can see that the Group Policy Object I created to configure PowerShell is correctly applying the RemoteSigned execution policy at the machine level:
Scope ExecutionPolicy
----- ---------------
MachinePolicy RemoteSigned
UserPolicy Undefined
Process Undefined
CurrentUser Undefined
LocalMachine Undefined
I created the script myself in Notepad, and used the Sysinternals' streams utility and the file Properties dialog to confirm that the script is not being treated as having come from the internet. If I copy the script to a network share on a domain server, then it's allowed to execute. If I run Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope LocalMachine then the local script is still not allowed to execute, which makes sense since the execution policy at the MachinePolicy scope will take precedence.
As documented by about_Execution_Policies(current; at time of question), the RemoteSigned policy means:
Scripts can run.
Requires a digital signature from a trusted publisher on scripts and configuration files that are downloaded from the Internet
(including e-mail and instant messaging programs).
Does not require digital signatures on scripts that you have run and that you have written on the local computer (not downloaded from
the Internet).
Risks running unsigned scripts from sources other than the Internet and signed, but malicious, scripts.
My script is not signed, but since it is both created and executed locally, it should satisfy the third bullet point above. Therefore...
Why is my script not being allowed to run?
Why does PowerShell complain that my script "is not digitally signed" when that requirement should only apply to files from the Internet?
Why does PowerShell no longer care about the script not being signed when it's run from a network share?
Some things to check:
Can you change to unrestricted?
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
Is the group policy set?
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows PowerShell
User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows PowerShell
Also, how are you calling Script.ps1?
Does this allow it to run?
powershell.exe -executionpolicy bypass -file .\Script.ps1
Is the file being blocked? I had the same issue and was able to resolve it by right clicking the .PS1 file, Properties and choosing Unblock.
When you run a .ps1 PowerShell script you might get the message saying “.ps1 is not digitally signed. The script will not execute on the system.”
To fix it you have to run the command below to run Set-ExecutionPolicy and change the Execution Policy setting.
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process -ExecutionPolicy Bypass
I have found out when running a PS1 file for a Mapped drive to Dropbox that I'm always getting this error. When opening up properties for the PS1 there is no "Unblock".
The only thing that work for me is
powershell.exe -executionpolicy bypass -file .\Script.ps1
I finally tracked this down to .NET Code Access Security. I have some internally-developed binary modules that are stored on and executed from a network share. To get .NET 2.0/PowerShell 2.0 to load them, I had added a URL rule to the Intranet code group to trust that directory:
PS> & "$Env:SystemRoot\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\caspol.exe" -machine -listgroups
Microsoft (R) .NET Framework CasPol 2.0.50727.5420
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Security is ON
Execution checking is ON
Policy change prompt is ON
Level = Machine
Code Groups:
1. All code: Nothing
1.1. Zone - MyComputer: FullTrust
1.1.1. StrongName - ...: FullTrust
1.1.2. StrongName - ...: FullTrust
1.2. Zone - Intranet: LocalIntranet
1.2.1. All code: Same site Web
1.2.2. All code: Same directory FileIO - 'Read, PathDiscovery'
1.2.3. Url - file://Server/Share/Directory/WindowsPowerShell/Modules/*: FullTrust
1.3. Zone - Internet: Internet
1.3.1. All code: Same site Web
1.4. Zone - Untrusted: Nothing
1.5. Zone - Trusted: Internet
1.5.1. All code: Same site Web
Note that, depending on which versions of .NET are installed and whether it's 32- or 64-bit Windows, caspol.exe can exist in the following locations, each with their own security configuration (security.config):
$Env:SystemRoot\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\
$Env:SystemRoot\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\
$Env:SystemRoot\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\
$Env:SystemRoot\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\
After deleting group 1.2.3....
PS> & "$Env:SystemRoot\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\caspol.exe" -machine -remgroup 1.2.3.
Microsoft (R) .NET Framework CasPol 2.0.50727.9136
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
The operation you are performing will alter security policy.
Are you sure you want to perform this operation? (yes/no)
yes
Removed code group from the Machine level.
Success
...I am left with the default CAS configuration and local scripts now work again. It's been a while since I've tinkered with CAS, and I'm not sure why my rule would seem to interfere with those granting FullTrust to MyComputer, but since CAS is deprecated as of .NET 4.0 (on which PowerShell 3.0 is based), I guess it's a moot point now.
If the file is copied from a network location, that is, another computer, Windows might have blocked that file. Right click on the file and click on the unblock button and see if it works.
What works for me was right-click on the .ps1 file and then properties. Click the "UNBLOCK" button. Works great fir me after spending hours trying to change the policies.
Select your terminal Command prompt instead of Power shell. That should work.
This is an IDE issue. Change the setting in the PowerShell GUI. Go to the Tools tab and select Options, and then Debugging options. Then check the box Turn off requirement for scripts to be signed. Done.
Please make a backup for the script.bs1 file
What works for me was deleting the script.bs1 file and running the execution command.
I was having the same issue and fixed it by changing the default program to open .ps1 files to PowerShell. It was set to Notepad.
Try running the Powershell GUI as Administrator
This occurs due to Powershell execution policy is set to restricted by default which prevents execution PowerShell scripts and protects from running malicious scripts.
You can change execution scope for specific scope by running the following command
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process
Run below 2 commands in PowerShell window
Set-ExecutionPolicy unrestricted
Unblock-File -Path D:\PowerShell\Script.ps1