Kernel exploit
The kernel on Linux systems manages the communication between components such as the memory on the system and applications. This critical function requires the kernel to have specific privileges; thus, a successful exploit will potentially lead to root privileges.
Example
Given that a remote shell is gained on a Linux Ubuntu machine with a low-privileged user. A few important information can be gathered from the enumeration commands discussed in the previous section under Enumeration.
Gather information on the kernel version
$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 3.13.0-24-generic ...
# OR
$ uname -a
Linux ... 3.13.0-24-generic ...Search for vulnerabilities
From the attacker machine
$ searchsploit linux kernel 3.13
...
Linux Kernel 3.13.0 < 3.19 (Ubuntu 12.04/14.04/14.10/15.04) - 'ove | linux/local/37292.c
Linux Kernel 3.13.0 < 3.19 (Ubuntu 12.04/14.04/14.10/15.04) - 'ove | linux/local/37293.txt
...Or directly from Exploit-DB:
Look for the exploit code and run a Python web server to serve the content
Navigate to a directory with write and execute permissions for all such as
/tmp
From the target machine
Adapted from task 5 of the TryHackMe practice room:
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