Network Hacking Post Exploitation

Fuzzing

• Sending unexpected or malformed data to an application to see how it handles
• Can lead to a possible DoS (Denial of Service)

Post Exploitation

• What happens after exploiting the target
• Privilege escalation: gaining higher-level access and permissions
• Password harvesting: collecting sensitive data
• Pivoting: moving to other systems in the network to gain more access and information

Privilege Escalation

• Targeting high-permission accounts (e.g., root, administrators)
• Gain access to system information and make changes to services and users

Pivoting

• Using a compromised system to access other systems in the network
• Compromised targets may have multiple interfaces, allowing access to other networks

Persistence

• Maintaining access to compromised systems
• Keeping access through repeated exploitation or other means

Process Injection

• Hiding malicious code inside existing processes
• Using Metasploit Meterpreter migrate command

Log Manipulation

• Clearing logs on compromised systems
• Deleting log files on Windows and Linux systems
• Using Meterpreter to clear event logs

Hiding Data

• Using dot files and directories on Linux
• Using alternate data streams (ADS) on Windows

Summary

• Searching for exploits
• Cracking password hashes using John the Ripper and Lophcrack
• Pivoting and privilege escalation
• Covering tracks to avoid detection

Exploit Resources

• CXSecurity: web-based interface for latest exploits
• Vulnerability-Lab: large vulnerability database with exploits and PoCs
• Exploit-Db: online resource for exploits, including Exploit Database and Metasploit

Metasploit

• Preinstalled with Kali, a popular penetration testing framework
• Provides tools for developing and executing exploits
• Many modules available for testing systems and networks
• Owned by Rapid7

Exploits Search Tools

• Search tools in Kali, including searchsploit command
• Searching for exploits using searchsploit

EternalBlue

• Exploit developed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)
• Leaked by the Shadow Brokers hacker group in 2017
• Used in WannaCry ransomware attacks on unpatched computers