• #security
• #linux
• #ruby
• #post-mortem
• #vulnerable vm
• #trollcave

This is a post-mortem of my Trollcave vulnerable VM. As it goes into implementation details of the different components and their vulnerabilities, it can be considered a comprehensive spoiler. If you’re going to, complete the VM before reading this. By the period between its inception and release, Trollcave was the labour of two years and a bit. But in terms of when I actually worked on it, it was the labour of about three weeks. Over the first week following its initial commit, I coded in a mad frenzy. Then...

• #security
• #ctf
• #linux
• #ruby
• #walkthrough
• #vulnerable vm
• #trollcave

Now that a couple of people have finished my vulnerable VM Trollcave (and let me know) it’s time to release the official walkthrough. OhExFortyOne and LutusHacks have also released walkthroughs, so check those out too for a couple of different takes on the box. There are a few different ways to approach this VM and successfully root it, but the compromise path I built it around looks like this: In addition to this path, there’s...

• #security
• #ctf
• #linux
• #ruby
• #vulnerable vm
• #trollcave

I’ve added something new to the Games page, but – like a couple of other things on that page – whether it qualifies as a game depends on what you mean by “game”. It has a clearly defined objective, multiple stages of progression and requires you to expend effort towards no useful end, so I’m going to call it a game. Also I don’t want to make a “Vulnerable VMs” page on this website – at least not until I make a second one. Trollcave is a...