Now we have a list of ~30 potential usernames. Instead of password spraying (noisy), we will perform AS-REP Roasting.
What is it?
If a user has the DONT_REQ_PREAUTH flag set (disabled pre-authentication), we can request an encrypted timestamp (AS-REP) and crack it offline like a hash.
| Aspect | Common Walkthroughs | This Guide |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Enumeration | Quick nmap -> Guess exploit. | Structured LDAP dump + AS-REP Roasting. |
| User Attack | Password spraying (noisy, risky). | Kerberoasting (stealthy, offline cracking). |
| Priv Escalation | Manual reg save hacks. | diskshadow + robocopy (reliable, modern). |
| Tooling | Only manual commands. | Impacket + BloodHound + Evil-WinRM. |
| Learning | Just get the flag. | Understand why the privilege works. | forest hackthebox walkthrough best
Use smbclient to list shares:
smbclient -L \\\\10.10.10.161\\ -N
Result: You see Windows 10 Pro 14393 (build 1607 - old) and SMBv1 enabled. But no anonymous shares? That's fine. We move on. Now we have a list of ~30 potential usernames
We start with Nmap. The "best" approach is not to scan all ports blindly, but to target AD-specific services.
The directory traversal vulnerability in the file manager web application allows an attacker to read files outside the web root. This can be exploited to read sensitive files like /etc/passwd. Use smbclient to list shares:
smbclient -L \\\\10
Always start with a full port scan using nmap to identify open services.
nmap -sC -sV -oA forest_initial 10.10.10.161
Once the users are identified, Forest introduces one of the most prevalent Active Directory attacks: AS-REP Roasting.
This is where the machine shines. It forces the user to understand Kerberos pre-authentication.
This phase is brilliantly designed because it teaches the "why" behind the exploit. It demonstrates that default AD configurations are often insecure and that a single misconfigured user attribute can lead to a foothold.