Kernel Exploit — Dirty Cow (CVE-2016-5195)

Privilege escalation lab using the Dirty Cow vulnerability, carried out as part of the cybersecurity specialization at 4Geeks Academy.

Description

Dirty Cow is a race condition in the Linux kernel's memory subsystem (CVE-2016-5195) that allows an unprivileged local user to gain write access to read-only memory areas, including /etc/passwd. This makes it possible to escalate directly to root without administrative credentials.

Environment

Lab Objectives

• Verify the kernel version and identify the vulnerability
• Compile the exploit in a Docker environment compatible with the victim
• Transfer and execute the binary via SCP
• Escalate from user student to root
• Capture the flag in /root/flag.txt

Result

Captured flag: 4GEEKS{Y0u_G0t_R00t}

Exploit used

Exploit-DB #40847 — Linux Kernel /proc/self/mem Race Condition Privilege Escalation (/etc/passwd Method)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40847

Repository contents

Legal notice

This lab was conducted in a controlled environment for educational purposes only. Exploitation of systems without the express authorization of the owner is illegal.

Author

Gonzalo Rodríguez
LinkedIn | GitHub