hashcat Archives - Threatninja.net

7 Feb, 2026

Hack The Box: Signed Machine Walkthrough – Medium Difficulity

Medium Machine Challenges, HackTheBox, hashcat, kerberos, Penetration Testing, responder, SQL, Windows

After escalating to a SYSTEM-level PowerShell reverse shell using xp_cmdshell and a base64-encoded payload that called back to my netcat listener on port 9007, I navigated to the user profile and read the user flag directly with type user.txt.

With full sysadmin rights on the SQL instance as SIGNED\Administrator (thanks to a forged silver ticket with Domain Admins membership), I enabled xp_cmdshell, launched a reverse shell to land SYSTEM access, then grabbed the root flag from

Box fully pwned — domain admin and SYSTEM in the bag!

#HackTheBox #HTBSigned #PenetrationTesting #CyberSecurity #PrivilegeEscalation #ActiveDirectory #RedTeam #CTF #EthicalHacking #OffensiveSecurity …

Learn MoreHack The Box: Signed Machine Walkthrough – Medium Difficulity

24 Jan, 2026

Hack The Box: Imagery Machine Walkthrough – Medium Difficulity

Medium Machine backup recovery, BurpSuite, Challenges, Charcol, HackTheBox, hashcat, javascript, json, Linux, Local File Inclusion (LFI), Penetration Testing, python3, RCE, ssh

Just completed the Imagery machine on Hack The Box (Medium). The challenge involved identifying weaknesses in a custom web application, analysing exposed application logic and data, and chaining these issues to move laterally within the system to gain user-level access. Further investigation highlighted how overlooked privilege boundaries and misconfigured trusted utilities can be abused to escalate privileges and obtain full administrative control.

#HackTheBox #CyberSecurity #WebSecurity #EthicalHacking #PenetrationTesting #PrivilegeEscalation #CTF #InfoSec
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22 Nov, 2025

Hack The Box: Mirage Machine Walkthrough – Hard Difficulity

Hard Machine autologon, BloodHoundCE, bloodyAD, Certipy, Challenges, HackTheBox, hashcat, impacket, john the ripper, nats, nfs, nxc, Penetration Testing, Windows, winpeas

Compromising the Mirage domain started with a simple clue hidden in an exposed NFS share. Inside a PDF report was a missing DNS record—just enough to pivot. By hijacking the DNS entry, I intercepted NATS JetStream traffic and captured real authentication logs, including valid credentials. After fixing the system time and obtaining a Kerberos TGT, I gained my first foothold on the domain controller and captured the user flag.

From there, the path to domain dominance unfolded through Active Directory weaknesses. An SPN ticket leak led to a cracked password, which opened the door to BloodHound reconnaissance and more credentials. I reset a disabled user’s password, extracted a service account’s managed password, and used Certipy to transform certificate abuse into full machine-level impersonation. With Resource-Based Constrained Delegation enabled, I forged Kerberos tickets, dumped every domain hash, and finally authenticated as Administrator—securing the root flag.

#CyberSecurity #PenetrationTesting #Kerberos #ActiveDirectory #RedTeam #HackTheBox #Infosec #PrivilegeEscalation …

Learn MoreHack The Box: Mirage Machine Walkthrough – Hard Difficulity

8 Nov, 2025

Hack The Box: RustyKey Machine Walkthrough – Hard Difficulity

Hard Machine BloodHoundCE, bloodyAD, Challenges, evil-winrm, HackTheBox, hashcat, impacket, kerberos, LDAP, nxc, Penetration Testing, python3, RunasCs, timeroast

Authenticated to rustykey.htb as bb.morgan after exploiting Kerberos flows and resolving a time sync issue: obtained a TGT (bb.morgan.ccache), set KRB5CCNAME, and used evil‑winrm to capture the user flag.
Escalated to SYSTEM by abusing machine account and delegation: IT‑COMPUTER3$ was used to modify AD protections and reset ee.reed’s password, S4U2Self/S4U2Proxy impersonation produced backupadmin.ccache, and Impacket was used to deploy a service payload to achieve a SYSTEM shell and capture the root flag.

#CyberSecurity #RedTeam #Kerberos #ActiveDirectory #PrivilegeEscalation #HackTheBox #Impacket #WindowsAD …

Learn MoreHack The Box: RustyKey Machine Walkthrough – Hard Difficulity

1 Nov, 2025

Hack The Box: Voleur Machinen Walkthrough – Medium Difficulty

Medium Machine Active Directory, BloodHoundCE, bloodyAD, Challenges, DPAPI, HackTheBox, hashcat, impacket, john the ripper, office2john, Penetration Testing, smbclient, Windows

25 Oct, 2025

Hack The Box: Artificial Machine Walkthrough – Easy Diffucilty

Easy Machine backrest, BurpSuite, Challenges, docker, h5, HackTheBox, hashcat, Linux, netcat-openbsd, restic, sqlite3

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

Insane Machine BloodHoundCE, bloodyAD, BurpSuite, Challenges, evil-winrm, HackTheBox, hashcat, impacket, NetExec, Penetration Testing, sharpdpapi, ssh, Windows

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

Medium Machine BloodHoundCE, bloodyAD, Certipy, Challenges, ESC15, HackTheBox, hashcat, Penetration Testing, TargetKerboasting, Windows

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

Hard Machine BloodHoundCE, Certipy, certutil, Challenges, ESC3, evil-winrm, HackTheBox, hashcat, kerberos, MySQL, Penetration Testing, python3, SeManageVolumePrivilege, Windows, Wireshark, zip slip

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

20 Sep, 2025

Hack The Box: Fluffy Machine Walkthrough – Easy Difficulity

Easy Machine BloodHoundCE, bloodyAD, Certify, Challenges, CVE-2025-24071, ESC16, HackTheBox, hashcat, NetExec, Penetration Testing, python3, smbclient, Windows

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