Identifier / Programs / Linux and Unix
iconv
Convert text from one encoding to another. tldr-pages
GTFOBins file-read, file-write 2 documented commands
How iconv is abused
file-read
-fConvert from (default UTF-8) toybox-tConvert to (default UTF-8) toyboxfile-write
-fConvert from (default UTF-8) toybox-tConvert to (default UTF-8) toybox-oEach abuse is GTFOBins's category and the options and words it uses; the full write-up is on GTFOBins's page for iconv.
2 documented commands
file-read unprivileged, with sudo, as SUID
iconv -f 8859_1 -t 8859_1 /path/to/input-filefile-write unprivileged, with sudo, as SUID
echo DATA | iconv -f 8859_1 -t 8859_1 -o /path/to/output-fileNone of the 2 commands the identifier reads trips a Sigma process-creation rule. These commands are from GTFOBins, at commit acd524623f9c of 2026-05-27, under the GPL-3.0, with no warranty. Changed: Markdown is shown formatted. The source is in lolbas-gtfobins-commands.json.gz, and the full entry is on GTFOBins’s page for iconv. The identifier reads the line of each that runs iconv.
Everyday use
Convert file to a specific encoding, and print to stdout
iconv --from-code from_encoding --to-code to_encoding input_fileIdentifyConvert file to the current locale's encoding, and output to a file
iconv --from-code from_encoding input_file >output_fileIdentifyList supported encodings
iconv --listIdentifyNone of the 3 examples the identifier reads matches GTFOBins abuse or trips a Sigma process-creation rule.
Options
Show every option of iconv
-cOmit invalid chars-f FROMConvert from (default UTF-8)-t TOConvert to (default UTF-8)