HackTheBox

Overview Scepter is a Hard-rated Active Directory machine on HackTheBox. The path to root is a long and winding one, involving multiple pivots through different user accounts and abuse of various Active Directory features. We start off with no credentials and enumerate an exposed NFS share, where we find several certificate files. After cracking the password for the certificates, we find that most of the associated user accounts are revoked. However, one certificate for the user d.baker is valid, and we use it to authenticate and get an NTLM hash. ...

Overview Dog is an easy box from HackTheBox that focuses on web application vulnerabilities, specifically a misconfigured Git repository and a vulnerable Backdrop CMS. We start by discovering an exposed .git directory, which allows us to dump the repository and uncover database credentials. These credentials lead to an authenticated web panel, where we exploit a known Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in Backdrop CMS to gain an initial shell as www-data. For privilege escalation, we discover that a user (johncusack) can execute a PHP utility (bee) as root, which we then abuse to spawn a root shell. ...

Overview This box focuses on web application vulnerabilities, specifically Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and SQL Injection, leading to privilege escalation. We start with an Nmap scan to identify open ports and services. We then enumerate the web application, discovering an exposed Git repository and an XSS vulnerability in the cat registration feature. Exploiting the XSS allows us to capture an admin session cookie, granting access to an administrative panel. From there, we identify and exploit a SQL Injection vulnerability to dump user credentials, which leads to SSH access as a low-privileged user. Finally, we leverage another XSS vulnerability within a local Gitea instance, triggered by an internal mail service, to compromise a higher-privileged user and obtain the root flag. ...