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    Monthly Archives: October 2025

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    25 Oct, 2025
    Hack The Box: Artificial Machine Walkthrough – Easy Diffucilty
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    Hacking the “Artificial” Machine on Hack The Box!

    Conquered the “Artificial” machine on Hack The Box! 🕵️‍♂️ I scanned the target, identified a web server on port 80, and created an account to access its dashboard, where I uploaded a malicious .h5 file to trigger a reverse shell. Using a Docker environment, I gained a shell as the app user, found a SQLite database (users.db), and cracked its password hashes to reveal credentials for user “gael,” allowing me to grab the user flag via SSH from user.txt. For root, I discovered port 9898 running Backrest, forwarded it, and enumerated backup files, finding a bcrypt-hashed password in config.json. Decoding a base64 value yielded a plaintext password, granting access to the Backrest dashboard, where I exploited the RESTIC_PASSWORD_COMMAND to trigger a root shell and secure the root flag from root.txt.

    #Cybersecurity #HackTheBox #CTF #PenetrationTesting #PrivilegeEscalation …

    Learn MoreHack The Box: Artificial Machine Walkthrough – Easy Diffucilty

    18 Oct, 2025
    Hack The Box: DarkCorp Machine Walkthrough – Insane Difficulity
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    Finished the Insane-level DarkCorp box on Hack The Box. Initial foothold came from registering on a webmail portal and abusing a contact form to deliver a payload that resulted in a reverse shell. From there I enumerated the app and DB, identified SQL injection and extracted hashes (cracked one to thePlague61780), recovered DPAPI master key material and additional credentials (Pack_beneath_Solid9!), and used those artifacts to escalate to root and retrieve root.txt. Valuable practice in web vectors, SQLi exploitation, credential harvesting, DPAPI analysis, and Windows privilege escalation. Happy to share high-level notes or mitigations.

    #HackTheBox #Infosec #RedTeam #Pentesting #WindowsSecurity #CredentialHunting #CTF …

    Learn MoreHack The Box: DarkCorp Machine Walkthrough – Insane Difficulity

    11 Oct, 2025
    Hack The Box: Tombwatcher Machine Walkthrough – Medium Difficulty
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    I cracked a Kerberos TGS for Alfred (password: basketballl), used BloodHound-guided enumeration and account takeover to obtain John’s machine credentials and retrieved the user flag (type user.txt); then I abused a misconfigured certificate template (ESC15) with Certipy to request an Administrator certificate, obtained a TGT (administrator.ccache), extracted the Administrator NT hash and used it to access the DC and read the root flag (type root.txt).

    #HackTheBox #RedTeam #ActiveDirectory #Kerberos #CertAuth #BloodHound #OffensiveSecurity #Infosec #PrivilegeEscalation …

    Learn MoreHack The Box: Tombwatcher Machine Walkthrough – Medium Difficulty

    4 Oct, 2025
    Hack The Box: Certificate Machine Walkthrough – Hard Difficulty
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    I recently completed the “Certificate” challenge on Hack The Box: after extracting and cracking a captured authentication hash I gained access to a user account (lion.sk) and retrieved the user flag, then progressed to full system compromise by responsibly exploiting weak certificate‑based authentication controls—obtaining and converting certificate material into elevated credentials to capture the root flag. The exercise reinforced how misconfigurations in certificate services and poor time synchronization can create powerful escalation paths, and highlighted the importance of least‑privilege, strict enrollment policies, and monitoring certificate issuance. Great hands‑on reminder that defensive hygiene around PKI and identity services matters.

    #CyberSecurity #HTB #Infosec #ADCS #Certificates #PrivilegeEscalation #RedTeam #Pentesting …

    Learn MoreHack The Box: Certificate Machine Walkthrough – Hard Difficulty