EthicBreach

Category: Penetration Testing Guide

  • SQL Injection 101: Cracking Databases with a Single Line

    Note for the #ethicbreach Crew

    Yo, #ethicbreach fam—this SQLi masterclass is about knowledge, not carnage. Keep it legal, keep it tight, and only crack what you’ve got permission to test. We’re dropping ethical hacking truth—use it to secure, not to screw. Stay on the right side of the wire!

    Ready to slip through the cracks of the digital world and pull secrets from the void? SQL injection is the shadow key that unlocks databases with ruthless precision. We’re diving deep—way deep—into this hacker’s favorite trick, not to burn the house down, but to show you how to build an unbreakable one. Buckle up.

    The Dark Art of SQL Injection: What’s the Game?

    SQL injection—SQLi to those in the know—isn’t just a hack; it’s a masterclass in exploitation. Picture a database as a vault stuffed with gold: user logins, emails, payment details, dirty little secrets. Now imagine slipping a single line of code into a web form that tricks the vault into handing you the keys. That’s SQLi—a technique so slick it’s been dropping sites for decades, from mom-and-pop shops to corporate giants. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s everywhere.

    Why does it work? Because developers get lazy. They trust user input like it’s gospel, letting it flow straight into SQL queries without a filter. One misplaced apostrophe, one crafty string, and boom—the database spills its guts. Attackers love it; defenders dread it. And you? You’re about to master it—not to plunder, but to protect.

    The Anatomy of a Database: Know Your Target

    Before you crack anything, you need to know what’s under the hood. Databases—think MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite—are the beating heart of most web apps. They store data in tables: rows and columns, like a spreadsheet on steroids. A table called “users” might hold “username” and “password” columns, while “orders” tracks your latest online splurge.

    SQL (Structured Query Language) is how apps talk to these databases. A login form might run a query like: SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = 'john' AND password = 'pass123';. If it matches, you’re in. If not, try again. Simple, right? But here’s where it gets juicy: what if you could hijack that query?

    Enter SQLi. By injecting your own code into that input—like ' OR 1=1 --—you can flip the logic. That query becomes: SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = '' OR 1=1 --' AND password = 'whatever';. The OR 1=1 always evaluates true, and the -- comments out the rest. Result? You’re logged in as the first user in the table—often an admin. That’s the skeleton key in action.

    Your Arsenal: Tools to Break and Build

    To pull this off—or defend against it—you need the right gear. Here’s your kit, straight from the hacker’s playbook:

    • Burp Suite: A proxy tool that intercepts web requests. You can tweak inputs on the fly, spotting SQLi holes like a hawk. The free version’s solid; the pro version’s a beast.
    • SQLMap: The automated king of SQLi. Point it at a URL, and it’ll sniff out vulnerabilities, dump databases, even crack passwords. Free and open-source—pure power.
    • Browser Dev Tools: Chrome or Firefox’s built-in inspectors let you mess with forms and watch responses. No install needed.
    • A Vulnerable Lab: Set up Damn Vulnerable Web App (DVWA) or a similar sandbox on a local machine. It’s your playground—break it, fix it, learn it.

    One unbreakable rule: Don’t test this on live sites you don’t own. That’s not hacking—that’s a felony. Keep it in your lab, keep it legal, and you’ll sleep better at night.

    Cracking the Lock: Step-by-Step Injection

    Let’s walk through a basic SQLi attack—on your own test setup, of course. This is the hands-on stuff, so fire up your lab and follow along.

    Step 1: Scout the Terrain

    Start with a target—a login form, a search bar, anything that takes user input and talks to a database. In DVWA, the “SQL Injection” module is perfect. Look for fields that feel ripe: no visible sanitization, weird error messages when you throw in odd characters like apostrophes.

    Step 2: Probe the Weakness

    Type a single quote—'—into the field and hit submit. If you get a database error (like “mysql_fetch_array()” or “syntax error”), you’ve struck gold. That means the input’s hitting the query raw. Now try the classic: ' OR 1=1 --. If it logs you in or spits out data, the door’s wide open.

    What’s happening? That input turns a legit query into a free-for-all. The 1=1 is always true, bypassing the password check, and the -- kills any trailing code. It’s crude, it’s effective, and it’s been around forever.

    Step 3: Dig Deeper

    Time to level up. Try a UNION attack: ' UNION SELECT username, password FROM users --. This stacks a second query onto the first, pulling specific columns—usernames and passwords, straight from the “users” table. If the app’s sloppy, it’ll display them right on the page. You might see “admin:pass123” staring back at you.

    Not working? Tweak it. Maybe the table’s called “accounts” or “customers.” Guess and test—or use errors to fish for names (more on that later).

    Step 4: Automate the Heist

    Manual injections are fun, but slow. Enter SQLMap. Run: sqlmap -u "http://localhost/dvwa/vulnerabilities/sqli/?id=1&Submit=Submit" --dbs. It’ll scan the URL, find injectable parameters, and list every database it can reach. Follow with --tables, then --dump to suck out the data. It’s like handing a lockpick to a robot—fast and ruthless.

    Step 5: Sift the Loot

    SQLMap might dump a table like this: “users | id | username | password”—and there’s your haul. In a real attack, this is where creds get stolen. In your lab, it’s where you learn: every exposed row is a lesson in what not to do.

    The Variants: Beyond the Basics

    SQLi isn’t one trick—it’s a whole bag. Here’s a taste of the flavors:

    • Blind SQLi: No errors, no output—just true/false responses. Inject ' AND 1=1 -- vs. ' AND 1=2 --. If the page changes, you’re in. Slow, but stealthy.
    • Time-Based: No visible clues? Try ' OR SLEEP(5) --. If the page lags 5 seconds, the database obeyed. Extract data bit by bit with delays.
    • Out-of-Band: Rare, but wild—use ' AND LOAD_FILE('/etc/passwd') -- to smuggle data over DNS or HTTP. Nasty if it works.

    Each type’s a puzzle. Solving them teaches you how attackers think—and how systems bleed.

    The Loot: What’s at Stake?

    A good SQLi hit can expose a goldmine—or a graveyard. User tables are the obvious prize: logins, emails, hashed passwords (crackable with tools like Hashcat). But it gets crazier—admin panels, customer orders, even server files if the database has file privileges. In 2017, Equifax lost 147 million records to SQLi. That’s the scale of sloppy code.

    Even “secure” sites leak metadata. Table names, column counts, database versions—they’re breadcrumbs for bigger attacks. It’s not always about the data; it’s about the foothold.

    Flipping the Script: From Cracker to Guardian

    Here’s where the black hat vibe turns white. Knowing SQLi isn’t just for kicks—it’s for fortifying. Every trick you’ve learned has a counter:

    • Prepared Statements: Use stmt = conn.prepare("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ? AND password = ?"). Inputs get locked in, not executed. SQLi dies here.
    • Input Sanitization: Strip quotes, slashes, semicolons—anything funky. Libraries like PHP’s mysqli_real_escape_string() help, but aren’t foolproof.
    • Least Privilege: Run your database user with minimal rights—no file access, no dropping tables. Limit the blast radius.
    • ORMs: Tools like SQLAlchemy or Django’s ORM abstract queries, dodging raw SQL pitfalls.

    Test your own apps. Inject them, break them, patch them. That’s ethical hacking: you wield the blade to forge the shield.

    Real-World Shadows: SQLi in the Wild

    This isn’t theory—SQLi’s a living nightmare. In 2011, Sony’s PSN got gutted—77 million accounts leaked via SQLi. In 2020, a flaw in Joomla sites let attackers dump databases with a single payload. OWASP ranks it #1 on their Top 10 risks, year after year. Why? Because it’s easy, and devs still sleep on it.

    Flip through dark web forums—SQLi dumps sell for pennies. That’s your data, your site, your rep on the line. Learning this isn’t optional—it’s survival.

    The Ethical Line: Why We Do This

    SQLi’s power is intoxicating—one line, total control. But power’s a double-edged sword. At #ethicbreach, we’re not here to breed chaos; we’re here to kill it. Every vuln you find, every fix you apply, makes the net tougher. That’s the game: outsmart the bad guys by thinking like them.

    Cracked a database yet? Hit us with #ethicbreach and show off your skills—or your fixes!

  • Evil Rootkits & You: A Beginner’s Guide to Controlled Mayhem

    Welcome, curious souls, to the shadowy underbelly of cybersecurity. Today, we’re diving deep into the sinister world of rootkits—those stealthy little demons that creep through systems, leaving chaos in their wake. Don’t get me wrong; we’re not here to burn the world down. No, this is about peering through the eyes of the wicked, understanding their craft, and turning that knowledge into a weapon for good. Think of it as slipping into a hacker’s mindset, not to wreak havoc, but to sharpen your skills as a pentester. Let’s pull back the curtain on rootkits and explore how these evil geniuses work their magic—and how you can outsmart them.

    Note: Before we begin, let’s be crystal clear—this isn’t a playbook for malice. The “evil” lens is just a fun way to reason like a hacker, dissect their tactics, and become a better defender. No harm, just learning.

    What the Hell Is a Rootkit, Anyway?

    Imagine a thief who doesn’t just break into your house but moves in, hides in your walls, and watches your every move—undetected. That’s a rootkit in a nutshell. It’s a piece of software (or sometimes firmware) designed to burrow into a system, gain privileged access (think “root” on Unix or admin rights on Windows), and stay hidden while it does its dirty work. The “kit” part? That’s the collection of tools it uses to manipulate, spy, or control the system.

    Rootkits are the ultimate evil sidekicks because they don’t just exploit—they persist. Unlike a one-and-done virus that crashes your system and calls it a day, a rootkit sets up camp, covering its tracks like a pro. It might log your keystrokes, steal your data, or even turn your machine into a zombie for a botnet—all while you sip your coffee, blissfully unaware.

    Historically, rootkits were born in the Unix world, sneaking into systems via compromised binaries. But they’ve evolved. Today, they haunt everything from Windows PCs to IoT devices, and they come in flavors like user-mode, kernel-mode, and even bootkits that sink their claws in before the OS even wakes up. Evil? Oh, yes. Clever? Undeniably.

    The Anatomy of Evil: How Rootkits Work

    To master the art of controlled mayhem, you need to know what makes a rootkit tick. Let’s break it down like a villain plotting their next move.

    1. Infiltration: Every rootkit needs a way in. This could be a phishing email with a malicious attachment, a drive-by download from a shady site, or an exploit in unpatched software. Picture a Trojan horse—innocent-looking but packed with menace. Once executed, the rootkit starts its takeover.
    2. Privilege Escalation: Why settle for a guest pass when you can steal the keys to the kingdom? Rootkits often exploit vulnerabilities (say, a buffer overflow) to jump from user-level access to admin or root privileges. This is where the real fun begins.
    3. Hiding in Plain Sight: Here’s the evil genius part—rootkits don’t want to be found. They hook into system calls, rewrite process tables, or tamper with drivers to stay invisible. On Windows, a rootkit might patch the SSDT (System Service Dispatch Table) to lie about what’s running. On Linux, it might mess with the kernel’s sys_call_table. You run ls or taskmgr, and it smirks, “Nothing to see here.”
    4. Persistence: A good rootkit doesn’t die when you reboot. It might nestle into the Master Boot Record (MBR), UEFI firmware, or even a hidden partition. Evil doesn’t take a vacation.
    5. Payload Delivery: Once entrenched, the rootkit unleashes its purpose—spying, stealing, or turning your system into a pawn. Keyloggers, backdoors, or remote access tools (RATs) are common toys in its arsenal.

    Take the infamous NTRootkit from the early 2000s. It hooked into Windows kernel functions, letting attackers run commands while dodging detection. Or look at ZeroAccess, a modern beast that enslaved millions of machines for click fraud and Bitcoin mining. These are the poster children of controlled mayhem.

    Crafting Your Own Rootkit (For Science, Of Course)

    Now, let’s get our hands dirty—not to deploy evil, but to understand it. Writing a rootkit isn’t beginner-friendly, but as a budding pentester, grasping the basics can level up your game. Here’s a simplified peek at a user-mode rootkit on Windows, using API hooking. (Don’t worry, we’re not touching kernel mode yet—that’s a whole other abyss.)

    First, you’d need a target. Let’s say you want to hide a process from Task Manager. Normally, Task Manager calls NtQuerySystemInformation to list running processes. A rootkit could intercept that call and filter out its own process ID. Here’s how it might go down:

    • DLL Injection: Use a technique like CreateRemoteThread and LoadLibrary to inject your malicious DLL into a target process (say, explorer.exe). This is your foothold.
    • API Hooking: Overwrite the first few bytes of NtQuerySystemInformation with a jump to your code. Your function checks the process list, skips your evil PID, and hands back a sanitized version.
    • Stealth: Restore the original bytes when you’re done to avoid suspicion.

    In C, it might look something like this (pseudo-code, not production-ready):

    c

    #include <windows.h>

void HookFunction() {
    HMODULE ntdll = GetModuleHandle("ntdll.dll");
    FARPROC target = GetProcAddress(ntdll, "NtQuerySystemInformation");
    BYTE jump[] = {0xE9, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00}; // JMP instruction
    DWORD oldProtect;

    // Point jump to our malicious function
    *(DWORD*)(jump + 1) = (DWORD)MyEvilFunction - (DWORD)target - 5;
    VirtualProtect(target, 5, PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE, &oldProtect);
    WriteProcessMemory(GetCurrentProcess(), target, jump, 5, NULL);
}

VOID MyEvilFunction() {
    // Filter process list, hide our PID, then call original function
}

    This is barebones, but it’s the seed of mayhem. Kernel-mode rootkits take it further, messing with drivers or the kernel itself—think patching the Interrupt Descriptor Table (IDT) or loading a rogue .sys file. Way nastier, way harder to detect.

    The Evil Toolbox: Rootkit Techniques

    Rootkits have a bag of tricks that’d make any villain jealous. Here are some favorites:

    • Direct Kernel Object Manipulation (DKOM): Mess with kernel data structures like the EPROCESS list on Windows to hide processes. No hooks, just raw memory tampering.
    • Inline Hooking: Rewrite a function’s code to redirect execution. Sneaky and effective.
    • Bootkit Shenanigans: Infect the bootloader (e.g., TDL4’s MBR trickery) to load before the OS. Good luck finding that with a standard AV scan.
    • Fileless Execution: Live in memory, never touching disk. Think PowerShell scripts or registry-based persistence.

    Each method has trade-offs. DKOM is stealthy but fragile—kernel updates might crash it. Bootkits are persistent but need low-level access. Fileless is trendy (hello, APT groups), but memory forensics can sniff it out. As a pentester, knowing these tricks helps you spot the signs.

    Detecting the Undetectable

    So, how do you fight evil when it’s hiding in your system? Pentesters and defenders need to think like hunters. Here’s your toolkit:

    1. Behavioral Analysis: Rootkits might dodge ps or dir, but they can’t hide CPU spikes or weird network traffic. Tools like Process Monitor (Windows) or netstat can raise red flags.
    2. Memory Forensics: Dump the RAM with Volatility or Rekall and look for anomalies—hidden processes, suspicious drivers, or hook signatures.
    3. Integrity Checking: Compare system files or kernel structures against known-good baselines. Tripwire or a rootkit scanner like GMER can help.
    4. Boot-Time Scans: Use a live CD or offline AV to scan before the rootkit loads. RootkitRevealer was a classic for this.

    Real-world example: Sony’s 2005 DRM rootkit hid files starting with $sys$ by hooking the Windows kernel. It got caught when researchers noticed CD playback hogging resources—behavioral tells don’t lie.

    Turning Evil Into Good: Pentesting Lessons

    Here’s the kicker—understanding rootkits isn’t just about marveling at their wickedness. It’s about flipping the script. As a pentester, you can use this knowledge to:

    • Test Resilience: Deploy a mock rootkit (in a lab, please) to see how your defenses hold up. Does your EDR catch it? Does your SIEM blink?
    • Spot Weaknesses: If a rootkit could hook a driver, what else could slip through? Tighten those privilege controls.
    • Educate Clients: Show them how sneaky attackers can be. Nothing says “patch your systems” like a demo of evil in action.

    I’ve seen pentesters use rootkit-inspired tactics—like persistence via scheduled tasks or registry edits—to mimic APTs during red team gigs. It’s controlled mayhem with a purpose: making systems tougher.

    The Ethical Line: Don’t Cross It

    Let’s pause for a reality check. Rootkits are fascinating, but they’re a double-edged sword. Experimenting in a sandbox VM is cool—deploying this stuff in the wild is illegal and harms people. Stick to ethical hacking. Use tools like Metasploit or custom scripts in controlled environments, and always get permission. The goal is to learn, not to destroy.

    Wrapping Up the Mayhem

    Rootkits are the dark lords of the hacking world—silent, ruthless, and devilishly clever. From sneaking past defenses to rewriting reality, they embody controlled mayhem at its finest. But here’s the twist: by studying their evil ways, you’re not just playing the villain—you’re arming yourself to be a better hero. Whether you’re a newbie pentester or a seasoned pro, rootkits teach you to think deeper, dig harder, and secure smarter.

    So, fire up that VM, tinker with some code, and embrace the shadows—just don’t let them consume you. Got questions? Drop ‘em below. Want more evil lessons? Stick around ethicbreach.com for the next dose of dark enlightenment.

    Stay curious, stay ethical, and keep the mayhem controlled.