We can use Metasploit to easily own the target. Any method will work, but for now, let's assume this machine is vulnerable to cd EternalBlue. In this scenario, we will assume this is a regular workstation (our Windows 7 machine). The first thing we need to do is compromise the initial target. Step 1: Grab the Hash from Initial Target Things get especially interesting because as long as we know the username, we can authenticate as an administrator with just the password hash. So by providing the authentication mechanism with the hash directly, we can bypass the need to know the plaintext password.

All things considered, the computer doesn't see a difference between the password and the hash in the end. When authenticating with a username and password, the password is hashed once you type it in. Think about it: your password isn't being thrown around the network in plaintext for everyone to see - it is cryptographically hashed from the moment of creation. Our attack works because of the way passwords are stored, transmitted, and used to authenticate. Don't Miss: Crack Shadow Hashes After Getting Root on a Linux System.It's also sometimes referred to as the NTHash, and it's what we can use to pass the hash. The fourth part is the NTLM hash, an updated version used on modern Windows systems that is much harder to crack. If you do, consider yourself lucky because they are trivial to crack. You don't see these much anymore, but it is still possible to come across them if older systems are still in use. The third part is the LM hash, a type of hash that was used in older Windows systems and was discontinued starting with Vista/Server 2008. The first part of the hash is the username, and the second part is the numerical relative identifier. There are four distinct sections, each separated by a semicolon. To understand the pass-the-hash technique, we first need to cover what makes up the hash. Don't Miss: Discover Open Ports Using Metasploit's Built-in Port Scanner.

We will be using Kali Linux as our attacking box. The user whose password hash we obtain needs to have administrative privileges and to have been logged on to both of these machines. We will be initially compromising a Windows 7 box, grabbing a hash from there, and pivoting to Windows Server 2016. It's especially interesting if we can manage to get the hash of an administrative user since we can then authenticate with higher privileges by performing an attack known as pass the hash. In certain situations, though, we can get around that by using the hash as is, with no need to know the plaintext password. Passwords on Windows are stored as hashes, and sometimes they can be tough to crack.

Tough to crack crossword