Simple CTF Walkthrough: Anonymous FTP, CMS SQL Injection, and a Sudo Rule Lead to Root

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This TryHackMe Easy-rated Simple CTF write-up covers a three-service target: vsftpd with anonymous login, Apache, and SSH on a non-standard port 2222. The author uses a full-range port scan, then finds a plaintext note on the anonymous FTP server that hints at a weak password for the user mitch. Directory enumeration reveals a CMS Made Simple 2.2.8 installation, which is vulnerable to an unauthenticated time-based blind SQL injection in the News module. The walkthrough notes that a file upload filter initially blocked execution of .phtml files, which had to be bypassed to obtain a shell. The write-up concludes that a permissive sudo configuration allowed escalation from the www-data user to root.

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