Book Image

Windows and Linux Penetration Testing from Scratch - Second Edition

By : Phil Bramwell
Book Image

Windows and Linux Penetration Testing from Scratch - Second Edition

By: Phil Bramwell

Overview of this book

Let’s be honest—security testing can get repetitive. If you’re ready to break out of the routine and embrace the art of penetration testing, this book will help you to distinguish yourself to your clients. This pen testing book is your guide to learning advanced techniques to attack Windows and Linux environments from the indispensable platform, Kali Linux. You'll work through core network hacking concepts and advanced exploitation techniques that leverage both technical and human factors to maximize success. You’ll also explore how to leverage public resources to learn more about your target, discover potential targets, analyze them, and gain a foothold using a variety of exploitation techniques while dodging defenses like antivirus and firewalls. The book focuses on leveraging target resources, such as PowerShell, to execute powerful and difficult-to-detect attacks. Along the way, you’ll enjoy reading about how these methods work so that you walk away with the necessary knowledge to explain your findings to clients from all backgrounds. Wrapping up with post-exploitation strategies, you’ll be able to go deeper and keep your access. By the end of this book, you'll be well-versed in identifying vulnerabilities within your clients’ environments and providing the necessary insight for proper remediation.
Table of Contents (23 chapters)
1
Part 1: Recon and Exploitation
9
Part 2: Vulnerability Fundamentals
17
Part 3: Post-Exploitation

Smuggling data – dodging firewalls with HTTPTunnel

Now, curl up with another cup of hot cocoa as Grandpa Phil tells you an RDP fairytale. We’re going to build a hypothetical situation in which we are lucky enough to have a foothold on a Linux server that’s behind a firewall. The firewall allows HTTP ports 80, 443, and 1433. You communicated with the server over its web service and discovered it is running a vulnerable Apache server. We compromised it with a PHP payload and got a shell through the firewall. Here’s your extra credit assignment – look at the following screenshot of the payload being delivered and figure out the nature of the vulnerability:

Figure 5.25 – Exploit extra credit – how we compromised our target

It’s an oldie but a goldie vulnerability. Despite its age, it’s not unusual to see it on internal networks in large organizations. But I digress – back to our compromised Linux...