Field notes from the front line of offensive security.
In-depth research, machine and challenge write-ups, step-by-step walkthroughs, and tactical guides drawn from real engagements and labs. Practical, technical, and written to help you understand not just what works — but why it works.
A step-by-step walkthrough of the Sau machine from Hack The Box, demonstrating how chaining an SSRF vulnerability in Request Baskets (CVE-2023-27163) with unauthenticated command injection in Maltrail v0.53 and a systemd pager privilege escalation (CVE-2023-26604) leads to full root compromise — from filtered ports to root shell.
A step-by-step walkthrough of the Jerry machine from Hack The Box, demonstrating how default credentials on an Apache Tomcat Web Application Manager lead to full system compromise via malicious WAR file deployment — achieving SYSTEM-level access without any privilege escalation.
A full walkthrough of Conversor, an easy Linux machine from Hack The Box. Exploit an XSLT injection in a web app to land a shell via a cron job, crack a database password hash for SSH access, then abuse a sudo needrestart misconfiguration (CVE-2024-48990) to reach root.
A full walkthrough of Expressway, an easy Linux machine from Hack The Box Season 9. Enumerate an IKE/IPsec VPN, crack the pre-shared key for SSH access, then exploit a vulnerable sudo to reach root.
A full walkthrough of Cap, an easy Linux machine from Hack The Box. Exploit an IDOR flaw to grab another user's packet capture, pull plaintext FTP credentials from the pcap for SSH access, then abuse a Linux capability (cap_setuid on Python) to escalate to root.
A structured, repeatable methodology for solving any HackTheBox machine — walking you through all 7 phases from reconnaissance to root, with the exact commands, tools, and checks to use at each step.
Base is a Tier 2 machine on HTB's Starting Point. You'll bypass a PHP login with type juggling and upload a web shell for a foothold, then escalate to root via a sudo misconfiguration.
Markup is a Tier 2 machine on HTB's Starting Point. You'll exploit an XXE injection to read files for a foothold, then abuse a scheduled task to escalate privileges and capture both flags.
Included is a Tier 2 machine on HTB's Starting Point. You'll exploit Local File Inclusion and TFTP to upload a web shell for a foothold, then escalate to root via the LXD container group.
A full guide to installing and optimizing Parrot Security OS and Kali Linux in VirtualBox — fixing clipboard, Wayland, shared folders, Guest Additions, boot, and performance.
Unified is a Tier 2 machine on HTB's Starting Point. You'll exploit the Log4Shell (Log4j) vulnerability in a UniFi app for a foothold, then extract MongoDB credentials to escalate access.
Vaccine is a Tier 2 machine on HTB's Starting Point. You'll crack a password-protected FTP zip, exploit SQL injection for a foothold, then escalate to root via a sudo VI misconfiguration.