Penetration Testing mailing list archives
Re: VMware and pen-testing
From: M Bealby <mbealby () gmail com>
Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2006 07:59:17 +0100 (BST)
From: wymerzp () sbu edu Subject: VMware and pen-testing Date: 21 Jul 2006 17:59:06 -0000
Hello, I am a student of computer science trying to learn more about the art of pen-testing. I have several tools at my disposal: nmap, enum, Metsploit Framework, Cain and Abel, ect. I obviously cannot test these against commercial networks (I could but I certainly don't want to go to jail) I have used nmap though due to it's unobtrusive nature. I therefore downloaded the evaluation version of VMware. I set up virtual machines with a host only connection; furthermore, I see the virtual machines network connections in network connections. I am running windows XP. I cannot figure out, probably due to my inexperience at networking, how to connect to the machnies once I have them up and running so I can run nmap scans against them (among other things). Any help would be appreciated, including links or whatever knowledge you guys could pass on. Regards, Zach
Hi Zach, Virtualisation is an excellent method of creating lab environments for practicing penetration testing. You mentioned you downloaded the evaluation version of VMware. Now this might be what you are referring to, but VMware Server 1.0 [1] was released for free recently and is great for this kind of testing. Linking all your virtual machines with host only networking sounds like a good start, especially if you are new to the art. It will avoid any mistakes affecting your local network / Internet connection. To link the machines together you create a virtual network (which will be called VMnet X, where X is a number from 1 to 9). If you place this network in host-only mode it acts like a virtual switch, routing packets between virtual machines with network cards allocated to that VMnet. Some VMnet's are reserved, and I'm not exactly sure how it is done on Windows, but each VMnet will be allocated a (user-specified) IP range. For example, let's assume you setup VMnet 5 to be host-only networking on the network 192.168.140.0/24. Then, to link your virtual machines together across this switch you will need to add a network card to each virtual machine and point it to VMnet 5. In addition to this you will need to setup the networking information in each guest operating system to have an IP in that range (e.g. for two virtual machines, 192.168.140.10 and 192.168.140.11). If all is done correctly, they should be able to ping and communicate between each other. One thing to note is that if you are running host-only networking and are attempted to connect to the machines from the host operating system (the one running VMware) you will not be able to see them (I think). Because of this I suggest creating a new virtual machine running one of the live-cd based penetration testing Linux distributions such as back:track [2]. This is probably the easiest method to get plenty of tools to practice with in your lab. Now that you have the attacking side set up you should install a variety of operating systems to attack. I would recommend installing a few older Linux/BSD distributions (without updates), as these will have known flaws that can be exploited easily. Also install a couple of newer distributions to observe the differences. The main difference should be that the newer distributions are normally more secure 'out-of-the-box'. A great advantage about using Linux/BSD for this purpose is that it is all free of cost. Another free operating system you might want to try is Solaris [3]. However, if you wish to install some Windows based machines (and to be complete, you should) then Microsoft makes trial editions (90 days) of most of their software available for free. The downloads are scattered throughout the Microsoft website, but a Google search [4] usually brings up a few. I hope this helps you get started and good luck with your learning, Martin [1] http://www.vmware.com/server/ [2] http://www.remote-exploit.org/ [3] http://www.sun.com/software/solaris/get.jsp [4] http://www.google.com/search?q=site:microsoft.com+trial ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This List Sponsored by: Cenzic Concerned about Web Application Security? Why not go with the #1 solution - Cenzic, the only one to win the Analyst's Choice Award from eWeek. As attacks through web applications continue to rise, you need to proactively protect your applications from hackers. Cenzic has the most comprehensive solutions to meet your application security penetration testing and vulnerability management needs. You have an option to go with a managed service (Cenzic ClickToSecure) or an enterprise software (Cenzic Hailstorm). Download FREE whitepaper on how a managed service can help you: http://www.cenzic.com/news_events/wpappsec.php And, now for a limited time we can do a FREE audit for you to confirm your results from other product. Contact us at request () cenzic com for details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current thread:
- VMware and pen-testing wymerzp (Jul 21)
- Re: VMware and pen-testing Christine Kronberg (Jul 22)
- Re: VMware and pen-testing M Bealby (Jul 22)
- Re: VMware and pen-testing Curt Purdy (Jul 24)
- Re: VMware and pen-testing Shreyas Zare (Jul 22)
- Re: VMware and pen-testing Rory Savage (Jul 24)
- RE: VMware and pen-testing Omar A. Herrera (Jul 22)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: Re: VMware and pen-testing wymerzp (Jul 24)