Today, I will show how to conquer the stratosphere – i.e. gain root access on the Stratosphere VM available on Hack The Box CTF grounds. To capture the root flag, I will have to overcome the Apache Struts framework to get an RCE vulnerability in a web app, put to practice the rarely used (but still very useful) Forward Shell remote session concept, highjack a library, and find a way to exploit the eval() function in a treacherous Python script.
The buffer overflow vulnerability is an extremely popular topic on hackers’ forums. In this article, I will provide a universal and practically-oriented ‘introduction’ for enthusiasts studying the basics of low-level exploitation. Using stack overflow as an example, I will address a broad range of topics: from security mechanisms currently used by the GCC compiler to specific features of binary stack overflow exploits.
Today, I will explain how to hack the CTF virtual machine available on Hack The Box training grounds. For the purposes of this article, the abbreviation “CTF” refers to Compressed Token Format, not Capture the Flag. This VM is vulnerable to various types of LDAP injections, while its authentication mechanism is based on stoken, a generator of one-time passwords. In addition, the target machine uses a loose Bash script, and I will exploit it to fool the 7z archiver and gain root access.
How to seize control over a host located in a different subnetwork? The right answer is: build numerous intricate tunnels. This article addresses tunneling techniques and their application in pentesting using as an example Reddish, a hardcore virtual machine (insane difficulty level: 8 out of 10) available on Hack The Box training grounds.
In this article, I will explain how to gain superuser privileges on Mischief VM available on Hack The Box training grounds. During this journey, you will acquire some SNMP skills, understand the IPv6 routing principles, and learn how to deal with the access control list (ACL) regulating the files and folders permissions. In the end, I will show how to write an ICMP shell in Python and test it.
Today, I will give a brief overview of some of the best pentesting portals recognized by security experts. These training grounds enable ethical hackers to polish their skills while preserving ‘ethicality’ and exploit newly-discovered vulnerabilities while staying within the bounds of the law.
A good knowledge of pivoting (a technique used to route traffic to the victim and back through interim hosts) is essential for any ethical hacker. Furthermore, this skill is absolutely mandatory for corporate network pentesting. In this article, I am going two hack two simple virtual machines on Hack The Box and demonstrate how to route traffic in the course of pentesting.
