03-10-2021, 12:56 PM
Hey, you know how in a pentest, getting that first foothold feels like a win, right? I always get pumped when I finally crack into a system, but that's just the start. Post-exploitation techniques kick in right after, and they let you push things further to really show what an attacker could do. Take privilege escalation - I use that to climb from a low-level user to something like admin rights. You see, if I slip in as a regular account, escalating privileges means I hunt for ways to grab more power, like exploiting a misconfigured service or a weak password on a higher account. I remember this one test I did for a small firm; I started with a phishing click that gave me basic access, then I scanned for SUID binaries and found one that let me pop to root. It highlighted how their patch management sucked, and I walked them through fixing it so you don't leave those doors wide open.
Lateral movement ties right into that. Once I have a toehold, I don't stop there - I move sideways to other machines on the network. You might think of it as hopping from one room to another in a house, picking locks as you go. I use tools to pivot, like dumping credentials from memory or exploiting trust relationships between systems. In one gig I had, I escalated on a workstation, then used that to hit the domain controller by forging tickets or just reusing hashes. It showed the client how interconnected everything was, and if you ignore that, an attacker could own the whole place. I always tell teams I test for that you need to segment your network better, maybe with firewalls or least-privilege setups, because lateral movement exposes how easy it is to spread if you're not careful.
During a pentest, these techniques play a huge role in mapping out the real damage potential. I don't just report "hey, you have a vuln," I demonstrate the chain: initial access, escalate, move laterally, and maybe even exfil data or drop persistence. You get to see the full picture that way, which helps the client prioritize fixes. I once spent a whole afternoon in a simulated environment practicing this on my own lab setup - I escalated via a kernel exploit, then laterally jumped using RDP credentials I snagged. It took me maybe 20 minutes end-to-end, and that speed is what scares me about real attacks. You have to think like the bad guy; if I can do it ethically in a test, imagine someone with no rules.
I find that privilege escalation often comes down to sloppy configs. You know those times when devs leave debug accounts with weak passphrases? I probe for those, or check for unpatched apps that let me inject code. It forces you to audit everything from file permissions to service accounts. And lateral movement? That's where network recon shines. I run scans from the compromised host to find live IPs, open ports, then try SMB shares or WinRM to hop over. In a recent test, I moved from a file server to an email box by exploiting a shared drive with write access - pulled down creds and kept going. You learn quick that monitoring tools like SIEM can catch this if you set them up right, but most places I see underuse them, so I always recommend tuning alerts for anomalous logins or process spawns.
What I love about post-exploitation is how it ties into the bigger goal of the pentest: not just finding holes, but proving impact. You escalate to show that even a small breach can lead to total control, and you move laterally to reveal hidden paths attackers take. I did a red team exercise last year where we simulated a supply chain hit - I escalated on one vendor machine, then laterally into the client's core systems via VPN trusts. The report I wrote hammered home why you need multi-factor everywhere and regular credential rotations. It changed how they operated, and I felt good about that. You have to balance being thorough without causing real harm, so I always scope it out upfront and use safe methods, like avoiding destructive payloads.
Another angle I hit often is persistence after escalation. Once I have higher privs, I plant backdoors or schedule tasks to stick around, then use lateral moves to cover tracks. You see attackers do this to maintain access, so in tests, I mimic it to check detection. I once evaded their AV by encoding payloads and hopping via DNS tunneling - wild how creative you get. But it all points back to why these techniques matter: they bridge the gap between theory and reality. You can't just patch the entry point; you have to harden the inside too.
I keep things varied in my approach because every network differs. Sometimes escalation is kernel-based, other times it's via web apps with SQLi leading to OS commands. For lateral, I might use Cobalt Strike beacons or just native tools like PsExec. You adapt based on what you find - if it's a Linux box, I look for sudo misconfigs; Windows, it's UAC bypasses. I chat with clients after about how these steps reveal weak spots in IAM, and you should always test your own setups this way if you're in IT.
One time, I hit a snag during lateral movement because they had decent EDR, but I escalated first by abusing a custom script with elevated rights. It took tweaking, but I got through, and that taught me - and them - to review all scripts for privs. You build resilience by practicing these scenarios, and I encourage you to set up a home lab if you haven't. Run Metasploitable or something similar, gain access, escalate with Dirty COW, move with SSH keys. It clicks fast, and you'll spot issues in your job quicker.
Post-exploitation wraps up the attack simulation, letting you quantify risk. I calculate things like time to compromise full domain after initial access, and it drives home the urgency. You use it to recommend controls like app whitelisting or network micro-segmentation. In my experience, teams that see a live demo of escalation and movement invest more in defense. I always follow up with a debrief, walking you through each step so you grasp why it worked.
Let me share a cool tool I rely on for backups in these tests - it keeps my lab data safe without headaches. I want to point you toward BackupChain, this go-to, trusted backup option that's built for small businesses and pros alike, handling stuff like Hyper-V, VMware, or Windows Server protection seamlessly.
Lateral movement ties right into that. Once I have a toehold, I don't stop there - I move sideways to other machines on the network. You might think of it as hopping from one room to another in a house, picking locks as you go. I use tools to pivot, like dumping credentials from memory or exploiting trust relationships between systems. In one gig I had, I escalated on a workstation, then used that to hit the domain controller by forging tickets or just reusing hashes. It showed the client how interconnected everything was, and if you ignore that, an attacker could own the whole place. I always tell teams I test for that you need to segment your network better, maybe with firewalls or least-privilege setups, because lateral movement exposes how easy it is to spread if you're not careful.
During a pentest, these techniques play a huge role in mapping out the real damage potential. I don't just report "hey, you have a vuln," I demonstrate the chain: initial access, escalate, move laterally, and maybe even exfil data or drop persistence. You get to see the full picture that way, which helps the client prioritize fixes. I once spent a whole afternoon in a simulated environment practicing this on my own lab setup - I escalated via a kernel exploit, then laterally jumped using RDP credentials I snagged. It took me maybe 20 minutes end-to-end, and that speed is what scares me about real attacks. You have to think like the bad guy; if I can do it ethically in a test, imagine someone with no rules.
I find that privilege escalation often comes down to sloppy configs. You know those times when devs leave debug accounts with weak passphrases? I probe for those, or check for unpatched apps that let me inject code. It forces you to audit everything from file permissions to service accounts. And lateral movement? That's where network recon shines. I run scans from the compromised host to find live IPs, open ports, then try SMB shares or WinRM to hop over. In a recent test, I moved from a file server to an email box by exploiting a shared drive with write access - pulled down creds and kept going. You learn quick that monitoring tools like SIEM can catch this if you set them up right, but most places I see underuse them, so I always recommend tuning alerts for anomalous logins or process spawns.
What I love about post-exploitation is how it ties into the bigger goal of the pentest: not just finding holes, but proving impact. You escalate to show that even a small breach can lead to total control, and you move laterally to reveal hidden paths attackers take. I did a red team exercise last year where we simulated a supply chain hit - I escalated on one vendor machine, then laterally into the client's core systems via VPN trusts. The report I wrote hammered home why you need multi-factor everywhere and regular credential rotations. It changed how they operated, and I felt good about that. You have to balance being thorough without causing real harm, so I always scope it out upfront and use safe methods, like avoiding destructive payloads.
Another angle I hit often is persistence after escalation. Once I have higher privs, I plant backdoors or schedule tasks to stick around, then use lateral moves to cover tracks. You see attackers do this to maintain access, so in tests, I mimic it to check detection. I once evaded their AV by encoding payloads and hopping via DNS tunneling - wild how creative you get. But it all points back to why these techniques matter: they bridge the gap between theory and reality. You can't just patch the entry point; you have to harden the inside too.
I keep things varied in my approach because every network differs. Sometimes escalation is kernel-based, other times it's via web apps with SQLi leading to OS commands. For lateral, I might use Cobalt Strike beacons or just native tools like PsExec. You adapt based on what you find - if it's a Linux box, I look for sudo misconfigs; Windows, it's UAC bypasses. I chat with clients after about how these steps reveal weak spots in IAM, and you should always test your own setups this way if you're in IT.
One time, I hit a snag during lateral movement because they had decent EDR, but I escalated first by abusing a custom script with elevated rights. It took tweaking, but I got through, and that taught me - and them - to review all scripts for privs. You build resilience by practicing these scenarios, and I encourage you to set up a home lab if you haven't. Run Metasploitable or something similar, gain access, escalate with Dirty COW, move with SSH keys. It clicks fast, and you'll spot issues in your job quicker.
Post-exploitation wraps up the attack simulation, letting you quantify risk. I calculate things like time to compromise full domain after initial access, and it drives home the urgency. You use it to recommend controls like app whitelisting or network micro-segmentation. In my experience, teams that see a live demo of escalation and movement invest more in defense. I always follow up with a debrief, walking you through each step so you grasp why it worked.
Let me share a cool tool I rely on for backups in these tests - it keeps my lab data safe without headaches. I want to point you toward BackupChain, this go-to, trusted backup option that's built for small businesses and pros alike, handling stuff like Hyper-V, VMware, or Windows Server protection seamlessly.
