Ethical Hacking Techniques Every OSCP Student Must Master

The Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) certification is one of the most respected and challenging ethical hacking certifications in the cybersecurity industry. It requires students to develop a hands-on approach to penetration testing and security assessment. To succeed, OSCP candidates must master several key ethical hacking techniques. In this blog, we’ll explore the essential skills and methodologies every OSCP student must learn.

1- Information Gathering and Reconnaissance

Before launching any attack, a hacker must gather as much information as possible about the target. Reconnaissance helps in identifying vulnerabilities and potential attack vectors. Essential techniques include:

• Passive reconnaissance (WHOIS lookups, Google Dorking, OSINT tools)
• Active reconnaissance (Nmap scanning, Netcat probing, enumeration scripts)
• Identifying open ports, services, and running versions

Recommended Tools: Nmap, Netcat, Recon-ng, Shodan, Maltego

2. Exploitation with Metasploit and Manual Exploits

A crucial part of ethical hacking is exploiting vulnerabilities. OSCP students must learn both automated and manual exploitation techniques.

• Using Metasploit for automated attacks
• Writing custom exploits in Python or Bash
• Leveraging buffer overflow vulnerabilities
• Exploiting misconfigurations and weak credentials

Recommended Tools: Metasploit, ExploitDB, SQLmap, Burp Suite

3. Privilege Escalation (Windows & Linux)

Gaining initial access is only the beginning; the next step is escalating privileges to gain full control over the target system.

• Windows Privilege Escalation: Finding misconfigured services, insecure file permissions, unquoted service paths
• Linux Privilege Escalation: Exploiting SUID binaries, kernel vulnerabilities, misconfigured cron jobs
• Extracting password hashes and leveraging pass-the-hash attacks

Recommended Tools: LinPEAS, WinPEAS, BloodHound, PowerUp, PrivEsc scripts

4. Post-Exploitation and Lateral Movement

Once inside the system, ethical hackers need to maintain access and move across networks.

• Creating backdoors using netcat or SSH keys
• Dumping credentials using Mimikatz or hash dump
• Lateral movement techniques like pass-the-hash, pivoting, and tunneling

Recommended Tools: Mimikatz, CrackMapExec, Impacket, Chisel

5. Web Application Exploitation

Many OSCP labs contain web-based applications that have vulnerabilities. Key web exploitation techniques include:

• SQL Injection (SQLi)
• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
• File Upload Vulnerabilities
• Directory Traversal Attacks

Recommended Tools: Burp Suite, SQLmap, Nikto, Gobuster

6. Password Cracking & Credential Attacks

Weak passwords are one of the most common security weaknesses. OSCP students should practice cracking passwords using brute-force techniques and password spraying.

• Cracking Linux and Windows hashes
• Using rainbow tables and wordlists
• Exploiting SSH, RDP, SMB login weaknesses

Recommended Tools: Hashcat, John the Ripper, Hydra, CeWL

7. Buffer Overflow Exploitation

OSCP places a strong emphasis on buffer overflow attacks, which require understanding memory structure and writing custom exploits.

• Identifying buffer overflow vulnerabilities
• Controlling EIP (Extended Instruction Pointer)
• Writing Python scripts to develop custom exploits

Recommended Tools: Immunity Debugger, Mona.py, Pwntools

8. Active Directory Attacks (Advanced)

While not heavily covered in OSCP, Active Directory exploitation is an important skill for ethical hackers.

• Kerberoasting to crack service accounts
• NTLM relay attacks
• Abusing misconfigured GPOs (Group Policy Objects)

Recommended Tools: BloodHound, CrackMapExec, Rubeus, Mimikatz

9. Network Pivoting & Tunneling

When attacking multi-layered networks, OSCP candidates must learn how to pivot from one machine to another.

• Setting up SSH tunneling and port forwarding
• Using proxy chains for anonymous connections
• Creating SOCKS proxies for network pivoting

Recommended Tools: Chisel, ProxyChains, SSH, Meterpreter

10. Writing Detailed Penetration Test Reports

A key requirement of the OSCP exam is writing a professional penetration testing report. The report should include:

• Clear documentation of vulnerabilities found
• Step-by-step attack paths
• Remediation recommendations

Recommended Tools: KeepNote, CherryTree, Dradis, Markdown editors

Conclusion

Mastering these ethical hacking techniques is essential for passing the OSCP certification and becoming a skilled penetration tester. OSCP is all about hands-on learning, so practice in home labs and CTF platforms like Hack The Box and TryHackMe is essential. With persistence, problem-solving skills, and continuous learning, achieving OSCP certification is within your reach!

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