Tag Windows

Hack The Box: Darkzero Machine – Hard Difficulity

Just completed the DarkZero machine from HackTheBox (Hard difficulty)!

After gaining a foothold on DC02 via a misconfigured MSSQL linked server and escalating to local Administrator using SigmaPotato token impersonation + RunasCs, we successfully captured the user flag from the Administrator’s desktop.

Dumped the domain Administrator NT hash with secretsdump, then used Evil-WinRM to get a full shell as Administrator on DC02 and retrieved the root flag.

#HackTheBox #HTB #Pentesting #ActiveDirectory #RedTeam #CyberSecurity #PrivilegeEscalation

Hack The Box: Signed Machine Walkthrough – Medium Difficulity

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

Hack The Box: Mirage Machine Walkthrough – Hard Difficulity

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

Hack The Box: Voleur Machinen Walkthrough – Medium Difficulty

Cracked a password-protected Excel on an SMB share to recover service-account credentials, used Kerberos to access a user account and capture user.txt, then leveraged AD write permissions to restore a deleted admin, decrypt DPAPI artefacts for high‑priv creds, and access the DC to grab root.txt.

#HackTheBox #ADSecurity #Kerberos #DPAPI #RedTeam #CTF

Hack The Box: DarkCorp Machine Walkthrough – Insane Difficulity

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

Hack The Box: Tombwatcher Machine Walkthrough – Medium Difficulty

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

Hack The Box: Certificate Machine Walkthrough – Hard Difficulty

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

Hack The Box: Puppy Machine Walkthrough – Medium Difficulty

Crushed the Puppy machine on HTB with surgical precision! Unlocked the user flag by leveraging levi.james credentials to access the DEV share, cracking recovery.kdbx with "Liverpool," and using ant.edwards:Antman2025! to reset ADAM.SILVER’s password, followed by a swift WinRM login to grab user.txt. For the root flag, extracted steph.cooper:ChefSteph2025! from C:\Backups, accessed a WinRM shell, and exfiltrated DPAPI keys via SMB. Impacket unveiled steph.cooper_adm:FivethChipOnItsWay2025!, opening the Administrator directory to claim root.txt.

#Cybersecurity #HackTheBox #CTF #Pentesting #PrivilegeEscalation

Hack The Box: TheFrizz Machine Walkthrough – Medium Difficulity

I successfully captured both user and root flags by exploiting a file upload vulnerability to gain a web shell, extracting database credentials from config.php, and cracking the user hash to reveal the password Jenni_Luvs_Magic23. Using these credentials, I accessed the web application, discovered an SSH migration hint, and leveraged a Kerberos ticket (f.frizzle.ccache) to gain SSH access and retrieve the user flag with type user.txt. For the root flag, I escalated privileges using M.SchoolBus and SharpGPOAbuse to manipulate SleepGPO, applied changes with gpupdate.exe /force, extracted credentials with secretdump, and used wmiexec to secure a root-level shell, ultimately reading the root flag with type root.txt.

#Cybersecurity #CTF #EthicalHacking #PenetrationTesting