Penetration Testing — Hands-On Writeups & Attack Methodology

A documented record of hands-on penetration testing work: methodology-driven write-ups covering Active Directory exploitation, web application security, and red team infrastructure, built to reflect real-world engagement standards, not just CTF completions.

Author: MD JUBAIR HOSSAIN · Penetration Tester
Portfolio: Medium · LinkedIn · TryHackMe

Focus areas: Internal Network Security Testing · External Network Security Testing · Web Application Pentesting · API Testing

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Why this repo

This repo proves the application. Every write-up follows a real pentest report structure — recon, exploitation, impact, remediation — a working record of how I actually break down a target, not just notes about it.

Index

Network Testing

Writeup	What it covers
Lateral Movement and Pivoting	Hands-on lab work covering lateral movement across compromised hosts and network pivoting techniques - practically executed using tools like Impacket, CrackMapExec, and Chisel/Ligolo for tunneling into segmented networks, with each technique tested and documented step-by-step in a controlled environment.
Exploiting Active Directory	Hands-on lab work completed on TryHackMe, covering practical exploitation of Active Directory environments - enumeration, attack path identification, and privilege escalation executed and documented step-by-step in a guided lab setting.
Active Directory Exploitation Notes	Structured walkthrough connecting enumeration, lateral movement, and privilege escalation techniques into a single attack chain.
Active Directory CVE Exploitation	Writeups covering exploitation of known CVEs affecting Active Directory environments - walking through vulnerability identification, proof-of-concept exploitation, and the underlying misconfiguration or patch gap that made each CVE exploitable, along with remediation guidance.
Active Directory Persistence	Techniques for maintaining long-term access in a compromised AD environment - covering methods like Golden/Silver Ticket abuse, DCSync, and AdminSDHolder manipulation, along with detection and remediation notes.Underlying misconfiguration or patch gap that made each CVE exploitable, along with remediation guidance.

Privilege Escalation

Writeup	What it covers
Privilege Escalation	Hands-on notes on escalating privileges after initial access - covering misconfiguration abuse, kernel exploits, service/permission weaknesses, and credential harvesting, documented step-by-step from low-privilege foothold to full system/domain compromise.

Web Application Security

Writeup	What it covers
Web Application Pentest	Methodology and findings from web application penetration testing exercises, including vulnerability identification and exploitation.

API Security

Writeup	What it covers
API Testing	Main index for the API301 repository, covering the methodology and scope for hands-on API security testing work.

Red Team / C2 Infrastructure

Writeup	What it covers
Adaptix C2 Framework	Building and configuring a C2 framework in an isolated lab, understanding listener/agent architecture relevant to red team infrastructure.
Initial Access	Hands-on notes on gaining initial foothold in target environments - covering common entry vectors like exposed services, weak credentials, phishing simulation payloads, and public exploit adaptation, documented step-by-step from recon through first shell

Reverse Engineering

Writeup	What it covers
Reverse Engineering	Hands-on notes on reverse engineering binaries — covering static and dynamic analysis, disassembly, and identifying exploitable logic or vulnerabilities in compiled programs.

IoT Hacking

Writeup	What it covers
IoT Hacking	Hands-on notes on IoT and embedded device security — covering firmware extraction and analysis, hardware interfacing, and identifying common vulnerabilities in connected devices.

Scope & Ethics

All work documented here was performed in authorized lab environments, CTF platforms (TryHackMe, HackTheBox), or self-hosted infrastructure built specifically for this purpose. Nothing in this repository reflects unauthorized access to third-party systems.

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📫 Contact: LinkedIn