In this section of the course,
we'll focus on the tools and techniques that enable us
to perform host-based attacks.
Host attacks involve methods aimed
at wreaking havoc on computer systems.
This is important as a penetration tester
because it gives us the quickest way
to spread malware,
using strategies from the viruses that we find in nature.
This domain will be centered around Domain 4,
Attacks and Exploits.
Objective 4.4 will be our main focus in this section,
which states that given a scenario,
we must be able to perform host-based attacks
using the appropriate tools.
First, we'll cover the topic Privilege Escalation
by learning the techniques and tools used
to gain higher-level permissions on a system or network.
Common methods include
exploiting system vulnerabilities
or disconfiguration oversight.
Next, we'll walk you through a hands-on demonstration
of Conducting Privilege Escalation using Metasploit.
We will switch from theoretical knowledge
to practical application,
allowing us to see how privilege escalations
are done in the real world.
Credential Harvesting will be explored next,
where we'll learn about the methods
and tools used to gather user credentials secretly.
We will be covering tools such as Mimikatz
and Rubeus in this lesson.
A demo on Misconfigured Endpoints will follow,
showing how to identify
and exploit common security misconfigurations
using tools like PowerShell,
which can often be a soft target
for initial access or lateral movement.
The next lesson, Unquoted Service Paths,
will be examined,
highlighting a specific Windows misconfiguration
that can allow an attacker
to gain higher privileges
if services are improperly configured.
Disabling Security Software
will be our next hands-on demo,
demonstrating techniques to disable
or circumvent antivirus
and other security applications
to maintain persistence or avoid detection.
Payload Obfuscation will be covered after that,
focusing on methods
to make malware less detectable
by security software through encryption,
encoding, or otherwise disguising
the malicious code in general.
A demo and a lesson,
User-Control Access Bypass,
will show methods and tools used
to exploit web applications
by manipulating input fields
or search parameters to bypass client-side controls.
After that,
Shell and Kiosk Escapes will be discussed,
explaining how attackers can break out
of restricted environments provided
by Shell's or Kiosk's applications
to access the underlying operating system.
Library and Process Injection
will be explored in another demo,
detailing techniques like DLL Injection
or Process Hollowing using tools like PsExec
that are used to run malicious code
within the space of legitimate processes.
Log Tempering will be up next.
In this lesson,
we'll cover how attackers can alter
or delete logs to hide their activity
and maintain presence on compromised hosts.
To wrap things up, Living Off The Land
will be our last topic covered.
Living Off The Land involves
using the system's own features
or legitimate software
to conduct malicious activities,
making the detection much harder
for security systems.
Finally, we'll take a short quiz to see
what you learned during
this section of the course
and review each of those quiz questions fully
to ensure you can explain
why each answer was right.
So, if you're ready to dive deeper
into strategies that compromise host systems
and learn to exploit their vulnerabilities,
let's begin our section on Host Attacks.