About This Lab

This lab is based on Ethical Hacking: A Hands-on Introduction to Breaking In by Daniel G. Graham. It follows the book’s hands-on approach to learning key offensive security skills ranging from network attacks and cryptography to  exploitation, and post-exploitation techniques.

The lab uses pfSense to create a segmented network environment, isolating the internal virtual network from the host LAN. This setup provides a safe space to practice attacks like ARP spoofing, reverse shells, phishing, and privilege escalation in a controlled, realistic setting.

Download the software required to set up the lab:

VirtualBox
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

pfSense
https://atxfiles.netgate.com/mirror/downloads

Ubuntu
https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

Kali Linux
https://www.kali.org/get-kali/#kali-platforms

HTB Parrot (Recommended)

https://parrotsec.org/download/?version=hackthebox

Metasploitable  2

https://sourceforge.net/projects/metasploitable/

Step 1: Set Up VirtualBox

• Install VirtualBox with default settings.
• Launch VirtualBox to confirm it opens (should display a home screen)
• For more detailed guide visit https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/

Step 2: Set Up pfSense Virtual Machine

2.1. Download pfSense:

• Download and unzip the ISO file
• In VirtualBox, click New.
• Set Name: pfSense, Type: BSD, Version: FreeBSD (64-bit).
• Allocate 1024MB RAM.
• Create a virtual hard disk (VDI, dynamically allocated, 5GB).

2.2. Configure Network:

• Right-click pfSense VM, select Settings > Network. 
• Adapter 1: Enable, set to Bridged Adapter (select your network card).
• Adapter 2: Enable, set to Internal Network, name it Internal LAN.

2.3. Install pfSense:

• Click the folder icon, add the pfSense ISO, and click Start.
• After installation, select Reboot and press ENTER.
• Power off the VM (File > Close > Power off).
• Go to Settings > Storage , remove the pfSense ISO, and click OK.
• Restart pfSense VM; it should display WAN and LAN interfaces ( 192.168.100.1/24).
• To reconfigure WAN/LAN  press "2) Set interface(s) IP address (192.168.200.1/24)

• Access pfSense on the internal network to view or edit your network preferences.

Step 3: Set Up Metasploitable Virtual Machine

3.1 Setup Metasploitable 2 Virtual Machine.

• • For complete guide see link below.
  • https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/metasploitable-2/
  • Extract the downloaded file.
  • Select use "Existing Virtual Hard Disk File"
  • Network Adapter 1 attached to "Internal Network"
  • Network Adapter 2 attached to "Private Lan"

Step 4: Set Up Kali Linux Virtual Machine

4.1 Download Kali Linux:

• • Check the official guide from Kali on how to install VM on Virtualbox.
  • https://www.kali.org/docs/virtualization/install-virtualbox-guest-vm/

  • Download the Kali Linux image for VirtualBox and then extract it.

  • Create a virtual machine and select the option to use an existing virtual hard disk file.

4.2 Configure Network:

• Right-click Kali VM, select Settings > Network.
• Adapter 1: Enable, set to Internal Network, name Internal LAN.

4.3 Start Kali:

• Open the VM; ensure PAE/NX is enabled in Settings > General > Processors if you see a black screen.
• Also need to disable Secure Boot & EFI
• Log in with username: kali, password: kali.

Step 5: Set Up Ubuntu Linux Desktop Virtual Machine

We will set up two Ubuntu Virtual Machines (VMs) using VirtualBox. The first machine will be connected to an Internal Network (192.168.200.0/24) network. The second machine will be isolated and connected to a Private LAN (10.0.0.0/24) network.

5.1  Create Ubuntu VM (UBUNTU-01)

• Follow this guide to setup Ubuntu on Virtualbox.
• https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/how-to-run-ubuntu-desktop-on-a-virtual-machine-using-virtualbox#1-overview

Notes:

In case error booting go VM  settings > screen > set the 'graphics controller' to VBoxVGA or VBoxSGVA > make sure 'enable 3D acceleration' is disabled.

5.2 Configure Network (UBUNTU-01)

• Right-click Ubuntu VM, select Settings > Network .
• Adapter 1: Enable, set to Internal Network  , name Internal Network.

5.3 On the a second Ubuntu machine (UBUNTU-02)

• Configure network adapter attached to "Internal Network" Private LAN.

• Manually setup IP address 10.0.0.15

• Ping Metasploitable 2 (10.0.01)

Step 6: Set Up Parrot Desktop Virtual Machine (recommended)

• To simulate the HTB environment, we will use the HTB Parrot VM.

• Make sure to disable 3D acceleration.

• Set Adapter 1 to Internal Network.

• Adjust the processor count according to your system's available resources.

Step 7: Test Your Lab Environment & Perform an Initial Scan

7. 1 Start by using Netdiscover to identify active devices on your local network:

sudo netdiscover

Netdiscover scans the local network and displays a list of active IP addresses and their associated MAC addresses. It helps you identify which devices are currently connected to the same LAN.

7.2 Next, run a basic Nmap scan to enumerate services on a specific target:

nmap -sV 192.168.200.50

-sV: Enables version detection, allowing Nmap to determine the versions of services running on open ports.

192.168.200.50: Replace this with the actual IP address of your target machine in the lab.

Reference:

https://www.kali.org/docs/virtualization/install-virtualbox-guest-vm/

https://parrotsec.org/docs/virtualization/install-parrot-on-virtualbox/

https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/metasploitable-2/

Ethical Hacking: A Hands-on Introduction to Breaking In Paperback by Daniel Graham

https://www.amazon.ae/Ethical-Hacking-Hands-Introduction-Breaking/dp/1718501870

On to the Next Challenge!

Basics of Pivoting