Scenario 3 – destructible distros

Like a man's wardrobe once he's past the age of 30, Linux boxes can often be neglected and rarely updated. Continuing the simile, Linux distros can also end up containing a variety of things that would have been long removed if only they were known about. In this example, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is equivalent to that polka dot shirt you thought was a good idea that time you were drunk on Carnaby Street; Secure Shell version 1 (SSHv1) is the Bermuda shorts from a long-forgotten holiday; and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is that tie—you know the one I mean. (If you, the reader, are a lady, the Bermuda shorts are a lime green bikini and the tie is still a tie. It's just that bad.)

We're going to locate and run an older distro of Linux on a VM, set it up with a basic exploit, and use exploits against the earlier Linux kernels to get to the root. This one is pretty straightforward, but is a useful addition to...