Privilege escalation is a critical phase in penetration testing where the attacker seeks to gain higher-level permissions on a system or network. This can involve moving from a lower-privileged user account to an administrative or root account, thereby gaining more control over the target environment.

1. Privilege Levels:

   • User-Level Privileges: Basic access rights typically granted to regular users.
   • Administrative Privileges: Higher-level permissions that allow for system-wide changes and access to sensitive data.
   • Root Privileges: The highest level of access on Unix/Linux systems, equivalent to administrative privileges on Windows.

2. Types of Privilege Escalation:

   • Vertical Privilege Escalation: Gaining higher-level privileges than initially granted.
   • Horizontal Privilege Escalation: Gaining access to the same level of privileges but for different user accounts.

3. Common Techniques:

   • Exploiting Vulnerabilities: Leveraging software bugs or misconfigurations to gain elevated privileges.
   • Credential Dumping: Extracting passwords or hashes from memory or storage.
   • Social Engineering: Manipulating individuals to gain access to privileged accounts.
   • Misconfigured Services: Exploiting services that run with higher privileges than necessary.

In Unix/Linux systems, sudo allows permitted users to execute commands as the superuser or another user. Misconfigurations in the sudoers file can be exploited for privilege escalation.

Code Snippet

Explanation

1. Check sudo privileges: The sudo -l command lists the allowed commands for the current user.
2. Identify misconfiguration: The output shows that the user can run vim with sudo without a password.
3. Exploit: Using vim to execute a shell command (:!/bin/bash) as root.

Mimikatz is a tool used to extract plaintext passwords, hashes, PIN codes, and Kerberos tickets from memory in Windows systems.

Code Snippet

Explanation

1. Run Mimikatz: Execute the Mimikatz tool.
2. Enable debug privileges: privilege::debug grants the necessary permissions to access sensitive information.
3. Dump credentials: sekurlsa::logonpasswords extracts credentials from memory.

Objective: Gain root access by exploiting a misconfigured sudoers file.

Scenario: You have access to a Linux system with a user account student. The sudoers file allows student to run /usr/bin/nano without a password.

Steps:

1. Check the sudo privileges for the student user.
2. Identify the misconfiguration.
3. Exploit the misconfiguration to gain a root shell.

Solution:

Objective: Extract credentials from a Windows system using Mimikatz.

Scenario: You have access to a Windows system with administrative privileges.

Steps:

1. Download and run Mimikatz.
2. Enable debug privileges.
3. Dump the credentials.

Solution:

• Mistake: Ignoring the legality and ethics of using tools like Mimikatz.

  • Tip: Always ensure you have explicit permission before performing any penetration testing activities.

• Mistake: Overlooking system logs that may alert administrators to your activities.

  • Tip: Cover your tracks by clearing logs or using stealthier methods.

Privilege escalation is a powerful technique in penetration testing that allows attackers to gain higher-level access within a target system. By understanding and practicing various methods, such as exploiting sudo misconfigurations and using tools like Mimikatz, you can effectively identify and mitigate potential security risks. Always remember to conduct these activities ethically and within the bounds of the law.