Show your current user, groups, and privileges with whoami
The fastest way to see which privileges your token actually holds — most are listed but disabled until something enables them.
01Command
$ whoami /priv02What it does
Windows tokens carry privileges such as SeBackupPrivilege or SeShutdownPrivilege in a listed-but-disabled state; they're only usable when a process enables them. If an operation fails with access denied, `whoami /priv` tells you whether you even hold the needed privilege, and `whoami /groups` shows whether your session is elevated (look for the Mandatory Label\High vs Medium integrity level). Because it's built into every Windows since Vista, it works in CMD, PowerShell, and even restricted recovery shells.
03Risk
04Undo
✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.
05Sources
- whoami | Microsoft LearnEvidence: Microsoft documents whoami /priv to list security privileges of the current user and /all to include group membership and SIDs.
- WHOAMI - Windows CMDEvidence: SS64 details whoami /priv and /all output, including disabled-vs-enabled privilege states.
Last verified: 2026-09-17 · Category: Security & Privacy
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