GIAC Foundational Cybersecurity Technologies Practice Test

What are some of the ways to perform privilege escalation?

1. Exploiting Services

2. Exploiting the Kernel

3. SUID Files

4. All of the above

The correct answer is: All of the above

Privilege escalation refers to techniques that attackers use to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected from the user. It can be categorized into two main types: vertical and horizontal. There are various methods to achieve privilege escalation, each leveraging different vulnerabilities and configurations within a system. Exploiting services is one method where vulnerabilities in services running at a higher privilege level are targeted. For instance, if a service is misconfigured to allow unauthorized users to execute privileged commands, an attacker can exploit this to gain higher privileges. Another method involves exploiting the kernel. The kernel is the core part of an operating system that manages system resources and interactions between hardware and software. Attackers can exploit kernel vulnerabilities to execute code at the highest privilege level, thus gaining full control of the system. SUID (Set User ID) files are special types of executable files that allow users to run them with the file owner's privileges. If these files are improperly configured or have vulnerabilities, they can be exploited by attackers to gain unauthorized privilege. Since all of these methods represent valid techniques for privilege escalation, the option highlighting all of them as ways to perform privilege escalation is accurate. Understanding the various techniques used for privilege escalation is crucial for cybersecurity professionals, as it aids in identifying and mitigating potential vulnerabilities