You have a low-privilege shell on Linux in scope. How do you approach ethical privilege escalation?

Problem Statement

Explanation

Enumerate first. Check who you are, groups, sudo policy, kernel and OS, running services, cron jobs, SUID files, writable paths, and environment variables. Look for weak file permissions and leaked secrets in configs or history. Avoid noisy actions. If a path looks risky, pause and seek approval before trying it. Document commands and outputs. If you gain higher rights, place a harmless marker file as proof and help the owner validate fixes after the test.

Code Solution

SolutionRead Only

id; uname -a; sudo -l; ls -la /etc/cron.*; find / -perm -4000 -type f 2>/dev/null

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You have a low-privilege shell on Linux in scope. How do you approach ethical privilege escalation?

Problem Statement

Explanation

Code Solution

Practice Sets

Related Questions

Why is a written scope and Rules of Engagement mandatory before any ethical hacking test?

Which ordering matches the common PTES workflow?

In ethical hacking, what does “without authorization” generally imply for legality?

What is the purpose of a Safe Harbor clause in a vulnerability disclosure or bounty program?

Which activity is typically out of scope for standard penetration tests unless explicitly allowed?

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Master Interviews Anywhere, Anytime

You have a low-privilege shell on Linux in scope. How do you approach ethical privilege escalation?

Problem Statement

Explanation

Code Solution

Practice Sets

Related Questions

Why is a written scope and Rules of Engagement mandatory before any ethical hacking test?

Which ordering matches the common PTES workflow?

In ethical hacking, what does “without authorization” generally imply for legality?

What is the purpose of a Safe Harbor clause in a vulnerability disclosure or bounty program?

Which activity is typically out of scope for standard penetration tests unless explicitly allowed?

More from Ethical hacking

Master Interviews
Anywhere, Anytime