OffSec EXP-401 Advanced Windows Exploitation (AWE) – Course Review

In November of last year, I took the OffSec EXP-401 Advanced Windows Exploitation class (AWE) at Black Hat MEA. While most of the blog posts out of there focus on providing an OSEE exam review, this blog post aims to be a day-by-day review of the AWE course content. OffSec Exp-401 (AWE) During the first day of AWE, the instructors shared with us the following slide: That’s to explain the “difficulty” of the course for each day. Needless to say, your mileage may...

Reverse Engineering Terminator aka Zemana AntiMalware/AntiLogger Driver

Recently, a threat actor (TA) known as SpyBot posted a tool, on a Russian hacking forum, that can terminate any antivirus/Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR/XDR) software. IMHO, all the hype behind this announcement was utterly unjustified as it is just another instance of the well-known Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attack technique: where a legitimate signed driver is dropped on victims’ machine and later used to disable security solutions and/or deliver additional payloads. This technique requires administrative privileges and User...

SANS SEC760: Advanced Exploit Development for Penetration Testers – Review

In July 2022, I took the SANS SEC 760 class in Berlin. I always promised myself and some close friends to write a review, but I didn't have the time until the Christmas break. This blog post aims to be a day-by-day review of the SANS SEC760 course content and its CTF, NetWars tournament and on-demand package. SANS SEC760 Looking at SANS's website, SEC 760 should teach skills required to reverse-engineer applications in order to find vulnerabilities, perform fuzzing and write complex exploits...

Naughty List Challenge Write-Up – X-MAS CTF

As the last post of the year, I decided to do something chill and a bit “off-topic” from my usual content. As the festivities are approaching, I have a bit more free time to dedicate to different stuff, like helping some friends with CTFs and such. I’ve decided to post about this specific challenge because since it wasn’t the most complex nor the one with the most shenanigans to flex about, it likely wouldn’t get any write-ups. But it’s a perfect...

Windows Exploitation Challenge – Blue Frost Security 2022 (Ekoparty)

Last month, during Ekoparty, Blue Frost Security published a Windows challenge. Since having a Windows exploitation challenge, is one of a kind in CTFs, and since I've found the challenge interesting and very clever, I've decided to post about my reverse engineering and exploitation methodology. Challenge Requests Only Python solutions without external libraries will be accepted The goal is to execute the Windows Calculator (calc.exe) The solution should work on Windows 10 or Windows 11 Process continuation is desirable (not mandatory) You...