Hack Terms & Definitions
Hack Terms & Definitions
Hack Terms & Definitions
Shellcode
Malware programming code that is injected covertly into the computer. The term originated from
code that activates a command shell to exploit the computer (see command processor) but may
refer to any machine language embedded in data that is used to compromise either the local
machine or a remote machine. "English shellcode" intersperses bits and pieces of command
statements within a large segment of normal English text. The pieces are decoded into formal shell
commands by a Trojan. See shell script.
shell script
A file of executable Unix commands that is created in a text editor. When the file is run, each
command is executed until the end of the file is reached. After the shell script is written, it is made
usable by changing its file status to "executable" with the Unix chmod (change mode) command
(see chmod).
Shell scripts are the Unix counterpart to Windows scripts and Windows/DOS batch files.
See Windows Script Host, PowerShell and batch file abc's.
How Shellcodes Work
by Peter Mikhalenko
05/18/2006
It's not an easy task to find a vulnerable service and find an exploit for it. It's also not easy to defend against users
who might want to exploit your system, if you are a system administrator. However, writing an exploit by yourself, to
convert a news line from bug tracker into a working lockpick, is much more difficult. This article is not a guide on
writing exploits, nor an overview of popular vulnerabilities. This is a step-by-step guide on developing a shellcode, a
crucial point of any exploit software. Hopefully, learning how they work will help conscientious and respectable
developers and system administrators to understand how malefactors think and to defend their systems against
them.
Take any exploit downloaded from the internet that promises you an easy root shell on a remote machine, and
examine its source code. Find the most unintelligible piece of the code; it will be there, for sure. Most probably, you
will find a several lines of strange and unrelated symbols; something like this:
char shellcode[] =
"\x33\xc9\x83\xe9\xeb\xd9\xee\xd9\x74\x24\xf4\x5b\x81\x73\x13\x8a"
"\xd4\xf2\xe7\x83\xeb\xfc\xe2\xf4\xbb\x0f\xa1\xa4\xd9\xbe\xf0\x8d"
"\xec\x8c\x6b\x6e\x6b\x19\x72\x71\xc9\x86\x94\x8f\x9b\x88\x94\xb4"
"\x03\x35\x98\x81\xd2\x84\xa3\xb1\x03\x35\x3f\x67\x3a\xb2\x23\x04"
"\x47\x54\xa0\xb5\xdc\x97\x7b\x06\x3a\xb2\x3f\x67\x19\xbe\xf0\xbe"
"\x3a\xeb\x3f\x67\xc3\xad\x0b\x57\x81\x86\x9a\xc8\xa5\xa7\x9a\x8f"
"\xa5\xb6\x9b\x89\x03\x37\xa0\xb4\x03\x35\x3f\x67";
This is shellcode, also sometimes referred to as "bytecode." Its content is not a magic word or random symbols. This
is a set of low-level machine commands, the same as are in an executable file. This example shellcode opens port
4444 on a local Linux box and ties a Bourne shell to it with root privileges. With a shellcode, you can also reboot a
system, send a file to an email, etc. The main task for an exploit program is therefore to make this shellcode work.
Take, for example, a widely known error-buffer overflow. Developers often check data that has been received as
input for functions. A simple example: the developer creates a dynamic array, allocates for it 100 bytes, and does not
control the real number of elements. All elements that are out of the bounds of this array will be put into a stack, and
a so-called buffer overflow will occur. An exploit's task is to overflow a buffer and, after that, change the return
address of system execution to the address of the shellcode. If a shellcode can get control, it will be executed. It's
pretty simple.
As I already said, this article is not a guide for writing exploits. There are many repositories with existing shellcodes
(shellcode.org, Metasploit); however, it is not always enough. A shellcode is a low-level sequence of machine
commands closely tied to a dedicated processor architecture and operating system. This is why understanding how it
works can help prevent intrusions into your environment.
What Is It For?
To follow along, I expect you to have at least minimal assembly knowledge. As a platform for experiments, I chose
Linux with a 32-bit x86 processor. Most exploits are intended for Unix services; therefore, they are of most interest.
You need several additional tools: Netwide Assembler (nasm), ndisasm, and hexdump. Most Linux distributions
include these by default.
Shellcode is basically a list of carefully crafted instructions that can be
executed once the code is injected into a running application. Stack and heap-
based buffer overflows are the most popular way of doing so.
The term shellcode literally refers to written code that starts a command shell.
The most common shellcode instruction is to execute a shell such as /bin/sh,
or cmd.exe. The only possible reason for launching such commands is to take
control or exploit a compromised machine.
Most people think hackers have extraordinary skill and knowledge that
information.
as a Hacker , and the process is referred as Hacking. Now a days, People started
thinking that hacking is only hijacking Facebook accounts or defacing websites. Yes, it is
also part of
hacking field but it doesn’t mean that it is the main part of hacking.
Who is Hacker?
A "Hacker" is the opposite: someone who never goes to class, who in fact
sleeps all day, and who spends the night pursuing recreational
security world.
Script Kiddie:-Script Kiddies are the persons who use tools , scripts, methods and
doesn’t know how a system works but still able to exploit it with
White Hat Hacker:-White Hat hackers are good guys who does the hacking for
defense.
system by finding security flaws and fixing it. They work for an
organization or individually to make the cyber space more secure. Break The Security
only concentrates on white-hat hacking and help you to learn the Ethical Hacking world.
Black Hat Hacker:-BlackHat hackers are really bad guys , cyber criminals , who have
malicious intent. The hackers who steal money, infect systems with
situation. Hackers who don’t have malicious intentions but still like
to break into third-party system for fun or just for showing the
existence of vulnerability.
Hacktivists:-The hackers who use their hacking skills for protesting against
hacking — involves the same tools, tricks, and techniques that hackers
use, but with one major difference: Ethical hacking is legal. Ethical
information risk management program that allows for ongoing security improvements.
Ethical hacking can also ensure that vendor’s claims
snickers and comments like “Hacker(danger).” Many people ask, “Can hacking
and systems. Then I apply the necessary fix or patch to prevent the
ending cycle as new weaknesses are constantly being discovered in computer systems
and patches are created by the software vendors to
Ethical hackers are usually security professionals or network penetration testers who
use their hacking skills and toolsets for
defensive and protective purposes. Ethical hackers who are security professionals test
their network and systems security for vulnerabilities using the same tools that a hacker
might use to compromise the network. Any computer professional can learn the skills of
ethical hacking.
Confidentiality
Authenticity
Integrity
Availability
SKILL SETS
Ethical hackers who stay a step ahead of malicious hackers must be computer systems
experts who are very knowledgeable about computer programming, networking, and
operating systems. In-depth knowledge about highly targeted platforms (such as
Windows, Unix, and Linux) is also a requirement. Patience, persistence, and immense
perseverance are important qualities for ethical hackers because of the length of time
and level of concentration required for most attacks to pay off. Networking, web
programming, and database skills are all useful in performing ethical hacking and
vulnerability testing.