Elevation - Escalating from Common to Root

In this lab, you will explore a corporate Linux system where multiple users operate with different levels of privileges. It is suspected that one of them may have the ability to escalate and gain full control over the system.

Your mission is to identify weaknesses in the existing accounts, evaluate the files accessible from the initial environment, and find a path to the account with the highest level of privileges.

🌱 How to Start This Lab

Follow these instructions to get started:

1. Download the virtual machine from this link:

1  https://storage.googleapis.com/cybersecurity-machines/elevation-lab.ova

1. Import the machine into your preferred virtualization software (VirtualBox, VMware, etc.).
2. Start the VM and log in as the user student:4geeks-lab.

Recommended Tools

During your analysis, you may consider using:

• Nmap, Netdiscover, arp-scan – for network discovery
• Hydra – to perform dictionary-based brute-force attacks
• SSH, scp – to access and transfer files between systems

Remember: sometimes power lies not in what is visible… but in what seems unprotected.

Happy hacking!