45. Practice Exercises with Hints
45.10 Capstone – Project Build-Hack-Fix (Sahyadri or Raja-Rani)
Full purple loop on fiction Maharashtra SME. Pick one org: Sahyadri Traders (Pune + Nashik) or Raja-Rani Traders (Kolhapur shop + Solapur warehouse). Scope = YOUR host-only + optional Free Tier.
| Exercise | Task | Hint |
|---|---|---|
| E1 | Write scope paragraph: IPs, VMs, what is out of scope | Host-only only; no bridged scans; named owners Raja/Rani/Shahrukh |
| E2 | Threat model table: 5 assets × CIA × one control | Web, DB, S3, SSH, staff phone |
| E3 | Build weak target (choose path in Project box) | Snapshot pre-weak first |
| E4 | Hack from Kali .10 with proof notes |
Only scoped IP; stop when proved |
| E5 | Fix + re-verify failure of the same exploit path | Screenshots before/after |
| E6 | Interview paragraph (clean English) of what you did | Ethics sentence first; tools second; fixes third |
| Red team (attacker) does | Blue team (defender) detects / stops |
|---|---|
| Exploits deliberate weak login / SQLi / open SG on OWN lab | Patches code; SG; prepared statements; MFA where fit |
| Documents only attack screenshots | Documents detection + fix evidence for portfolio |
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
Capstone madhe students "tool dump" kartat – 20 tools, zero fix. Interviewer fix vicharato. Teen screenshots: weak → proof → fixed. He lakshat theva.
Lab
Time-box 90 minutes: scope → build → hack → fix → 10-line report. Peer review with Amir: he tries to break your fix inside scope only.
Project: Build it, hack it, fix it
Build: For fictional Sahyadri Traders (Pune) or Raja-Rani Traders (Kolhapur): on YOUR host-only Amazon Linux / Ubuntu VM 192.168.56.50, deploy a tiny PHP+MySQL (or SQLite) "staff login + order lookup" app that deliberately (1) uses string-concat SQL, (2) stores session cookie without HttpOnly/Secure on HTTP, (3) runs httpd/nginx with SG/firewall wide open in lab, (4) has OS user shahrukh with weak sudo or world-writable /var/www/html. Commands theme: sudo yum install httpd php mysql (or mariadb-server) then sudo service httpd start / sudo service mysqld start (Ubuntu: apt + sudo service apache2 start). Snapshot pre-capstone-weak. Hack (lab only): From Kali 192.168.56.10, nmap -sS -T2 -p 22,80,443,3306 192.168.56.50; prove SQLi on order lookup; prove cookie theft idea via clear HTTP; optional weak SSH password spray only against this VM if you set the weak password yourself. Never touch .1 gateway scans of other homes, never sqlmap the internet. Fix: prepared statements; force HTTPS (lab cert OK); cookie flags; sudo nginx -t / apachectl configtest before reload; sudo service httpd restart; firewalld/SG allow 443 (and 22) only from 192.168.56.10; MySQL bind localhost; remove world-writable bits; strong passwords + key SSH. Re-verify: old SQLi payload fails; HTTP login disabled; Kali without allow-list cannot reach DB port; cookie flags present. Purple note: Red proved classic OWASP + Linux hygiene gaps still open SME shops; Blue proved Build-Hack-Fix closes them without leaving the lab.
Real incident: Target retail breach (2013)
Public reporting described attackers entering through a third-party HVAC vendor remote path (as widely reported), then moving laterally to reach payment-related systems and exfiltrate card data over weeks. Weakness themes: vendor access + segmentation failure + detection lag. Capstone lesson: your "small" login box and vendor VPN paths are part of one network story – segment, monitor, least privilege. Source: congressional / major investigative reporting on Target (2013) (verify; say "reported" for card counts).
Thodkyaat sangaycha tar
- Part 13 starts with practice exercises – ethics and OWN lab before every Hint.
- Networking, Linux EC2 (
sudo yum/sudo service), web+MySQL, domains/S3/RDS/project checklist – revise by doing. - Kali recon/scan/enum and OWASP fixes = host-only DVWA/Juice/Metasploitable only.
- Cloud/SOC/hardening/crypto + AD-to-mobile drills = defence language for interviews.
- Capstone Build-Hack-Fix for Sahyadri or Raja-Rani: scope → weak build → hack → fix → re-verify.
- Real incidents (Equifax (2017), Capital One (2019), WannaCry (2017), Target (2013)) = patch, segment, least privilege, monitor – known facts only.
- Next: general interview Q and A, then MNC-style questions with sources, CEH exam-module map – still ethics first.
Samjla ka? Practice exercises with hints complete – ethics-first revision. Pudhe **general interview Q and A**, mag MNC interview sets ani **CEH exam modules** map. Chala revise kara, mitrano!