Set up the Lab Environment
Penetration testing usually involves the following steps:
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Information Gathering: Collect as much information as possible about the target system, including network information, website content, directory structure, potential usernames, open ports, services, domain names, and subdomains. Various tools can be used for this purpose.
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Vulnerability Scanning: Use scanning tools to perform a comprehensive scan of the target system to identify vulnerabilities. Automated scanning tools are available, or manual tools can be used for targeted scanning of specific services.
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Exploitation: Once exploitable vulnerabilities are identified, use appropriate tools and techniques to gain higher-level access or privileges on the target system. This may involve remote code execution, injection attacks, or other methods.
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Maintaining Access: Create a backdoor or persistent access mechanism on the target system to facilitate future access while avoiding detection.
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Reporting: Analyze the findings and generate a report detailing the vulnerabilities discovered and the steps taken during the penetration testing process. This report can help the target organization to secure their systems effectively.
In summary, with an understanding of the basic steps involved in penetration testing, it's time to put theory into practice. Through hands-on exercises, we can apply the knowledge and skills learned to gain practical experience in the field of penetration testing.
At first, you need to set up the lab environment for practicing a penetration testing scenario.
The lab environment consists of two systems:
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Kali Linux Container (Attacker Machine): This is a Docker container running Kali Linux, which will be used to perform the attack.
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Metasploitable2 Virtual Machine (Target Machine): This is a vulnerable Ubuntu server acting as the target system.
To set up the environment, follow these steps:
- Start the Metasploitable2 target machine:
sudo virsh start Metasploitable2
- Ping the target machine to ensure it's running (use Ctrl+C to exit):
ping 192.168.122.102
- Start the Kali Linux container and enter the Bash shell:
docker run -ti --network host b5b709a49cd5 bash
- Test the network connectivity from the Kali container by pinging the target machine (use Ctrl+C to exit):
ping 192.168.122.102
Both the attacker and target machines should now be running and accessible. You are ready to begin the penetration testing process.