Elevation 2 - Windows, Cracks Beneath the Surface

A closed system is not invulnerable. It's just waiting for the right tool. Unlike Linux, where permissions are carved in visible stone, in Windows the doors are painted to look like walls. But the vulnerabilities are there. In every misconfigured service, every forgotten token, every binary with more power than it needs.

Today, the environment is corporate, familiar, clean. But you're not here to follow rules or browse decorative folders.
You're here to take control.

What is Privilege Escalation in Windows?

Privilege escalation in Windows systems involves exploiting misconfigurations, privileged binaries, relaxed policies, or exposed credentials to gain access as Administrator or SYSTEM.

Types:

• Vertical escalation: from regular user to administrator or SYSTEM.
• Horizontal escalation: moving between unprivileged users looking for one with higher access.

Why it happens

Because environments are designed by humans. And humans make design mistakes, permission errors, update management oversights. The system may seem solid, but there are hidden paths. Some inherited. Some ignored. All useful.

Common mistakes in Windows:

• Vulnerable or misconfigured services.
• Scheduled tasks running binaries without restrictions.
• Files with passwords stored in plain text.
• Binaries with excessive permissions.
• DLL Hijacking.
• Poorly configured UAC.

🔑 Basic Privilege Escalation Techniques in Windows

The key is enumeration. Before acting, observe. Tools like:

• whoami: to check your identity and groups.
• systeminfo: shows system info, patches, version.
• accesschk: to identify special permissions.
• tasklist, schtasks, netstat, net users: built-in utilities to inspect activity and accounts.

Abusing Services

Look for services with the following characteristics:

• Run as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.
• Have a path with spaces without quotes.
• The current user can modify the service's executable.

This allows you to replace the legitimate binary with a malicious one. When the service restarts, your binary will run as SYSTEM.

Escalation via Vulnerable Binaries (Potato Family, etc.)

Tools like Juicy Potato or PrintSpoofer exploit system design to force command execution as SYSTEM. These attacks often depend on:

• COM service permissions.
• Poor DCOM or RPC configurations.

These tools require some technical skill and must be used precisely. But the result is total access.

Scheduled Tasks and Poorly Protected Binaries

If you find a scheduled task that runs an .exe in a path you can write to, you can replace that executable with your own. The next time the task runs, your code will execute with the permissions defined by the task.

1schtasks /query /fo LIST /v

Fictitious Corporate Environment

The pattern repeats:
Directories like:

• Accounting
• Financial
• Team
• Human Resources
• Support

Contain nothing useful. They're there to simulate a professional environment. To waste your time. Your real target is in the users. In their keys. In their mistakes.

Quick Diagnosis: Windows Checklist

• Enumerate users and groups.
• Review configured services and their permissions.
• Identify scheduled tasks.
• Look for binaries with write permissions.
• Read event logs and scripts.
• Check for exposed credentials (creds.txt, .bat, .ps1).
• Verify UAC configurations.

Recommended Tools for Pentesters

• WinPEAS: Automated Windows privilege escalation vulnerability scanner.
• PowerUp.ps1: Privilege escalation enumeration from PowerShell.
• Seatbelt: Post-exploitation information gathering tool.

Windows is not infallible. It's complex, bureaucratic, full of technical inheritances. That makes it powerful… and vulnerable. Learning to escalate in Windows is learning to see what wasn't designed to be seen. The system may look intact, but it already has a crack—you just need to press in the right spot.