Machine Synopsis

UpDown is a medium difficulty Linux machine with SSH and Apache servers exposed. On the Apache server a web application is featured that allows users to check if a webpage is up. A directory named `.git` is identified on the server and can be downloaded to reveal the source code of the `dev` subdomain running on the target, which can only be accessed with a special `HTTP` header. Furthermore, the subdomain allows files to be uploaded, leading to remote code execution using the `phar://` PHP wrapper. The Pivot consists of injecting code into a `SUID` `Python` script and obtaining a shell as the `developer` user, who may run `easy_install` with `Sudo`, without a password. This can be leveraged by creating a malicious python script and running `easy_install` on it, as the elevated privileges are not dropped, allowing us to maintain access as `root`.