Taking on Level 3 – Kioptrix
Many of the techniques we want to cover in this chapter can be explored by taking on the challenge that the Kioptrix has made available for us. Let's take a look at the steps necessary to gain root on the Kioptrix machine.
Tip
Open up BackTrack take a look at the web application at Kioptrix3.com. Browse around and review the source of the pages. There are some interesting notes and Easter eggs left out for us before even starting. Have fun with it!
In general we would begin by scanning the server that hosts the web application. This infrastructure testing gives us a lot of information that comes in handy when trying to perform certain web application vulnerabilities. In this case, we know from using our Load Balance Detector that there is some load balancing going on. We also know that the servers are very similar to one another and are not leaving any clues as to what their real IP is. Our next step is to check if there are any noticeable web application firewalls...
