ssh.exe

by Microsoft (OpenSSH port)

Remote Accessmedium risk

Summary

OpenSSH Client for Windows. Built into Windows 10+ for secure remote shell access and tunneling. Can be used for data exfiltration, C2 tunneling, and lateral movement.

ssh.exe is the 2031st most commonly executed Windows program in EchoTrail's dataset, observed 296 times across enterprise environments. It typically runs from C:\Windows\System32\OpenSSH and it is most often launched by cmd.exe.

2031st

most commonly executed Windows program

296

observed executions

low

statistical confidence

Behavior

Top Paths

C:\Windows\System32\OpenSSH98.65%
C:\...0.68%
C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin0.68%

Top Hashes (SHA256)

66742efa77b8ff7f207597e4a0aa5c1e599c47b204a999deef55bf3acf05e51160.81%
0d6b181edc282e0f14b3db6c59235290b1a5e7772f3fcf859fe7e92d57fec9fc20.61%
722bee41ccf54b88660c0e67adeb2c9612c18d739e5a8eb8c35c3d7066a9587117.23%
9a7f1d269fad829937f929dd5fa4a58852839052ba844a8e78e2ce3b65be2e180.68%
a7ef2dcb2f42656bb61f7e2b85b05c67cf32414dafc014b5a878f417e43545f20.68%

Process Ancestry

Top Grandparents

bash.exe50%
git.exe50%

Top Parents

Top Children

conhost.exe100%

Rare or environment-specific process names are omitted from ancestry tables. Percentages are of all observed relationships.

Security Analysis

What does ssh.exe normally do?

Runs from C:\Windows\System32\OpenSSH. Installed as an optional feature on Windows 10+. Used for remote administration of Linux/Unix systems, Git operations, and secure file transfer.

When is ssh.exe suspicious?

SSH connections to unusual external IPs. Port forwarding (-L, -R, -D flags). Reverse tunneling. Execution by service accounts. Rapid successive connections to multiple hosts (lateral movement pattern).

How do attackers abuse ssh.exe?

1. C2 TUNNELING: Attackers establish SSH tunnels to external servers for encrypted C2 communication that blends with legitimate SSH traffic. 2. DATA EXFILTRATION: SCP/SFTP via SSH for encrypted data transfer to attacker-controlled servers. 3. PORT FORWARDING: "ssh -L" or "ssh -R" to tunnel traffic through the compromised host, bypassing network controls. 4. LATERAL MOVEMENT: SSH to internal Linux/Unix systems using stolen credentials or keys.

Detection guidance

MEDIUM-CONFIDENCE: - ssh.exe with -L, -R, or -D flags (port forwarding/tunneling) - ssh.exe connecting to external IPs not in known admin lists - ssh.exe executed by service accounts or non-admin users - Multiple ssh.exe connections in rapid succession DATA SOURCES: Process creation with command line (Sysmon 1), network connections (Sysmon 3)

False positive notes

Developers connecting to Linux servers, Git operations over SSH, IT admins managing Linux infrastructure. Very common in development environments.

MITRE ATT&CK techniques

T1021.004 T1572 T1048

References

https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1021/004/

Related Processes

cmd.exe putty.exescp.exesftp.exessh-agent.exe

Ask Rocky about ssh.exe

Rocky answers questions about ssh.exe grounded in this same dataset — free, no account needed.

Need this data programmatically? The Rocky API includes 500 free lookups a month. Or just ask Rocky.

Data from EchoTrail's dataset of ~346M Windows process executions. Last extracted 2026-08-04.