Linux PATH Hijacking Privilege Escalation — Complete Walkthrough with Live Demo
In this video, we cover Linux PATH Hijacking — one of
the most powerful and sneaky privilege escalation
techniques used by hackers during real-world pentests
and CTF challenges. If you've just landed initial
access on a Linux machine and are looking for a way
to escalate your privileges to root, PATH hijacking
combined with SUID binaries is a technique you NEED
to understand.
We start from the very beginning — breaking down what
the PATH variable actually is, how Linux uses it to
find and execute commands, and why that behavior can
be completely weaponized by an attacker. From there,
we walk through the full exploitation process step by
step in a live demo: identifying writable directories,
crafting a fake malicious command, manipulating the
PATH variable using export, and triggering the SUID
binary to execute our payload as root — full root
access, no password required.
Whether you're preparing for OSCP, grinding through
TryHackMe or HackTheBox privilege escalation rooms,
studying for CEH, or just starting your ethical
hacking journey, this linux privesc tutorial breaks
down the concept clearly so that even a complete
beginner can follow along and actually understand
what's happening under the hood — not just copy
commands blindly.
By the end of this video you will understand exactly
how Linux PATH hijacking works, when to look for it
during post exploitation, how to identify vulnerable
SUID binaries that call commands without a full path,
and how to chain it all together to get a root shell
on a target machine.
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Chapters:
0:00 — What Even Is PATH Hijacking? (And Why It Works)
1:02 — How Linux Actually Finds Commands Like "ls"
3:20 — The Critical Flaw: Linux Runs the FIRST Match It Finds
4:00 — Why PATH Hijacking Alone Won't Get You Root
5:00 — The Secret Ingredient: SUID Binaries Explained
6:48 — Lab Setup Begins — Building the Vulnerable Target
8:43 — Writing the Vulnerable C Binary (The Setup That Makes Root Possible)
10:24 — Compiling the Binary + Enabling SUID with chmod
11:01 — Creating a Low-Privilege User to Simulate Real Attack Conditions
13:29 — Switching to the Victim User — Attack Begins
14:39 — Running the Binary — Nothing Happens Yet (Here's Why)
16:21 — Crafting the Malicious Fake Command in /tmp
17:47 — Still Not Working — The One Step Everyone Misses
18:38 — Injecting /tmp Into the PATH Variable Using export
20:29 — ROOT SHELL — The Exploit Works
20:54 — Breaking Down Exactly What Just Happened Step by Step
21:46 — Real Machine Time — TryHackMe Lab Walkthrough Starts
22:18 — SSHing Into the Target as a Low-Privilege User
22:59 — Hunting for SUID Binaries on the Real Machine
23:58 — Found the Vulnerable Binary — It Calls a File Without Full Path
24:18 — Creating the Malicious Payload on the Real Target
25:47 — Injecting the Fake PATH — The Key Step
26:47 — Root Shell on the Real Machine — It Actually Works
27:15 — Capturing the Flags
28:02 — Bonus: Finding Writable Directories for the Final Answer
#LinuxPrivEsc #PathHijacking #EthicalHacking