Begin with an aggressive Nmap scan to discover open ports, active services, and the target operating system. Replace TARGET_IP with the IP address of your Metasploitable 3 instance. nmap -p- -sV -sC -O -T4 TARGET_IP -oA metasploitable3_win Use code with caution. -p- : Scans all 65,535 TCP ports. -sV : Determines service and version information.
Launch Metasploit and load the Tomcat login scanner to verify credentials.
This walkthrough covers the entire attack lifecycle, from initial scanning to full administrative compromise. 1. Information Gathering & Reconnaissance
This article is part of an ongoing series on penetration testing with Metasploitable 3. Stay tuned for deeper dives into each attack vector, custom exploit development, and evasion techniques. metasploitable 3 windows walkthrough
enum4linux 192.168.56.103 nmap --script smb-vuln* -p 445 192.168.56.103
whoami /priv # Check assigned user privileges systeminfo # Check OS architecture and installed hotfixes net user # List local user accounts net localgroup administrators # View local administrators Use code with caution. Automated Privilege Escalation Auditing
: In the Tomcat Manager dashboard, scroll down to WAR file to deploy , upload your shell.war file, and click Deploy . Begin with an aggressive Nmap scan to discover
Mimikatz can extract directly from LSASS process memory.
Clone the Metasploitable 3 repository:
This module reads sensitive files like /WEB-INF/web.xml , which may contain credentials or application configuration details. -p- : Scans all 65,535 TCP ports
Metasploitable 3 is missing hundreds of patches. Use :
Stored cleartext credentials in registry keys or configuration files. Exploiting Token Impersonation (JuicyPotato)
If a path contains spaces without quotes (e.g., C:\Program Files\Vuln App\service.exe ), Windows resolves the first token, allowing an attacker to place a malicious executable earlier in the path.
Every successful penetration test begins with reconnaissance. Before launching exploits, you must map the target's open ports and identify the services running on them. Host Discovery and Nmap Scanning
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