Hackfail.htb May 2026

As always, we started with a standard Nmap scan to see what we were dealing with: nmap -sC -sV -oA initial_scan 10.10.x.x Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard The scan revealed a fairly standard setup:

"A hackfail isn’t a failure. It’s a data point." hackfail.htb

Can you modify /etc/passwd or a cron job? As always, we started with a standard Nmap

FLAGthis_is_not_the_real_flag_keep_trying hackfail.htb

Purposely fail several SSH login attempts to trigger Fail2Ban. When Fail2Ban executes the modified action script to "ban" you, it executes your malicious command as the root user. 🛡️ Key Takeaways & Mitigation

Once inside, the goal was to get root. I ran sudo -l to see what my user could do.