Advanced Exploitation and Post-Exploitation Techniques

Month 4: Advanced Exploitation and Post-Exploitation Techniques

Duration: 1 Month

Time Commitment: 12-15 hours per week

Week 1: Advanced Web Exploits and Bypass Techniques

Objective: Learn about advanced exploitation techniques, including bypassing protections

and exploiting complex vulnerabilities.

Day 1-3: Advanced SQL Injection Exploits

1. SQLi Blind Exploitation:

o Learn advanced blind SQL Injection techniques, including time-based blind
SQLi and Boolean-based blind SQLi.
o Use SQLmap for advanced exploitation and to automate blind SQLi
exploitation.
2. Bypassing WAFs (Web Application Firewalls):
o Learn techniques for bypassing WAFs like encoding payloads, using case
manipulation, and exploiting less-known SQL injection techniques.
o Understand how rate-limiting and detection systems affect exploitation.
3. Hands-on Practice:
o Bypass WAFs using techniques like URL encoding, space obfuscation, and
commenting out SQL queries.
o Perform blind SQL injection to dump database contents, and practice
bypassing WAFs to gain access.
4. Resources:
o Platform: Hack The Box or TryHackMe rooms with advanced SQLi.
o Book: SQL Injection Attacks and Defense by Justin Clarke (advanced SQLi
sections).

Day 4-7: Advanced Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks

1. Advanced XSS Exploitation:

o Explore DOM-based XSS and Advanced Stored XSS attacks, including
payload obfuscation and bypassing XSS filters.
o Use JavaScript to create more complex payloads that allow for session
hijacking or keylogging.
2. XSS Payloads:
o Learn about multi-stage XSS payloads to bypass filter mechanisms.
o Understand third-party integrations and how they can introduce XSS
vulnerabilities (e.g., Content Security Policy).
3. Hands-on Practice:
 o Create advanced XSS payloads that bypass filters and perform malicious
actions like stealing session cookies, redirecting users, or injecting scripts.
o Test DOM-based XSS in real-world scenarios and refine payloads.
4. Resources:
o Video: “Advanced Cross-Site Scripting” on YouTube.
o Platform: TryHackMe or Hack The Box challenges on XSS.

Week 2: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) and Remote Code Execution

(RCE)

Objective: Master Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) and Remote Code Execution
(RCE) vulnerabilities and exploitation techniques.

Day 8-10: SSRF Exploitation

1. SSRF Overview and Techniques:

o Learn about SSRF and how attackers use it to send malicious requests from a
vulnerable server to internal services.
o Explore internal service enumeration and how SSRF can lead to privilege
escalation and internal network compromise.
2. Hands-on Practice:
o Exploit SSRF vulnerabilities on a vulnerable web app by crafting malicious
requests that trigger SSRF.
o Use SSRF to identify internal systems, such as metadata services in cloud
environments (AWS EC2, GCP, etc.).
3. Resources:
o Video: “SSRF Exploitation Explained” on YouTube.
o Platform: Hack The Box or TryHackMe challenges related to SSRF.

Day 11-14: Remote Code Execution (RCE) Exploitation

1. RCE Vulnerabilities:
o Learn how attackers exploit Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities,
allowing them to execute arbitrary code on the target server.
o Understand how file upload vulnerabilities, command injection, and
deserialization issues lead to RCE.
2. Hands-on Practice:
o Exploit file upload vulnerabilities and gain remote code execution on a
vulnerable server.
o Practice deserialization-based RCE on vulnerable web apps.
3. Resources:
o Platform: Hack The Box or TryHackMe rooms focused on RCE.
o Book: The Web Application Hacker's Handbook (RCE chapter).
o Video: “Exploiting Remote Code Execution” on YouTube.

Week 3: Post-Exploitation Techniques

Objective: Master post-exploitation techniques, including maintaining access, lateral
movement, and escalating privileges within compromised systems.

Day 15-17: Maintaining Access with Web Shells

1. Web Shells:
o Learn how to upload and use web shells for maintaining access to a
compromised web server.
o Understand how to secure web shells to prevent detection by intrusion
detection systems (IDS) or firewalls.
2. Hands-on Practice:
o Upload a web shell using a vulnerable file upload functionality and control
the server via a web interface.
o Explore reverse shells and how to interact with them securely.
3. Resources:
o Platform: TryHackMe or Hack The Box with web shell challenges.
o Video: “How to Upload and Use Web Shells” on YouTube.

Day 18-21: Lateral Movement and Pivoting

1. Lateral Movement:
o Understand how to move laterally between compromised systems to access
more sensitive areas of the network.
o Pivoting: Learn how to pivot through compromised web servers to access
internal systems that are otherwise unreachable.
2. Hands-on Practice:
o Use a compromised web server as a jumping-off point to pivot and attack
internal services.
o Learn to configure VPNs or SSH tunnels to further access internal resources.
3. Resources:
o Platform: TryHackMe or Hack The Box rooms focused on pivoting.
o Video: “Pivoting Through a Compromised Server” on YouTube.

Day 22-24: Privilege Escalation Techniques

1. Privilege Escalation:
o Learn about web application privilege escalation techniques such as
exploiting insecure access control mechanisms.
o Escalate privileges from normal users to admin by exploiting weak roles or
configurations.
2. Hands-on Practice:
o Exploit a broken access control vulnerability to escalate your privileges
within a compromised web application.
o Explore configuration flaws in the web app that allow unauthorized privilege
escalation.
3. Resources:
o Book: The Hacker Playbook (privilege escalation section).
o Platform: TryHackMe or Hack The Box privilege escalation rooms.
Week 4: Data Exfiltration and Clean-Up Techniques

Objective: Learn about data exfiltration methods and how to properly clean up after
exploiting vulnerabilities.

Day 25-27: Data Exfiltration Methods

1. Exfiltrating Sensitive Data:

o Learn techniques for extracting sensitive data (e.g., passwords, personal
data) from compromised systems or databases.
o Explore exfiltration techniques using DNS tunneling, HTTP/HTTPS, or
file transfer protocols.
2. Hands-on Practice:
o Use DNS tunneling or HTTP for exfiltrating data from a compromised web
server.
o Learn how to exfiltrate files from the server using netcat or similar tools.
3. Resources:
o Platform: TryHackMe or Hack The Box rooms with data exfiltration
challenges.
o Video: “Data Exfiltration Using DNS Tunneling” on YouTube.

Day 28: Cleaning Up and Leaving No Traces

1. Covering Tracks:
o Learn how to clean up after performing a pentest or exploiting a vulnerability.
o Techniques include deleting logs, removing web shells, and clearing traces of
exploitation from the server.
2. Hands-on Practice:
o After exploiting vulnerabilities, practice clearing your tracks by removing
logs, reversing changes made to the server, and cleaning up shell access.
3. Resources:
o Platform: TryHackMe or Hack The Box rooms focused on cleaning up
after exploitation.

End of Month 4 Review

 Review and reinforce the advanced exploitation techniques learned throughout the
month.
 Continue practicing on real-world platforms like Hack The Box, TryHackMe, and
VulnHub to improve your skills.

By the end of Month 4, you’ll be proficient in advanced exploitation techniques and post-
exploitation activities, including maintaining access, privilege escalation, data exfiltration,
and covering your tracks.