Creating a Windows 7 Buffer Overflow Practice VM in Proxmox

In this module, we will look at creating a vulnerable Windows 7 VM in Proxmox that will run some applications which are vulnerable to 32-bit stack-based buffer overflows
In: Proxmox, Home Lab, Windows, Attack

This page is part of the larger series of converting an old laptop into a bare metal home lab server. Click the link to be taken back to the original post.

Proxmox VE 8: Converting a Laptop into a Bare Metal Server
In this post, we will take a look at an in-detail process of setting up a Proxmox home lab on a bare metal server.





If you need a Windows 7 ISO, refer back to this page and download one of the 64 bit images.

Running Windows Guests on Proxmox
In this module, we will look at the optimal way to run Windows guests in our Proxmox home lab

Create the VM

General

OS

System

Hard Disk

CPU

Memory

Network

Putting my BOF VM on the untrusted VLAN with internet access. You could put it on VLAN 80 and join it to your domain if you wanted it to be part of your lab.





Installation

Turn on the VM. Install Windows 7 using the .iso file. Create a user account and sign in.





Disable Windows Firewall

Open the Start Menu and search for Control Panel

Click System Security

Click Windows Firewall

Turn off both zones





Disable Windows Updates





Disable Windows Defender

In the Control Panel, click the View by option

Change this to small icons.

Go to Tools > Options

Uncheck this box

Click Administrator and uncheck this box

Click Save





Uninstall Security Updates

I wrote a script for just this purpose. All the instructions for running the script can be found on the GitHub repo.

GitHub - 0xBEN/RemoveWindowsSecurityPatches: PowerShell script that can be used to create vulnerable Windows targets.
PowerShell script that can be used to create vulnerable Windows targets. - GitHub - 0xBEN/RemoveWindowsSecurityPatches: PowerShell script that can be used to create vulnerable Windows targets.




Install Prerequisites on the VM





Install a Vulnerable App on the VM





Take a Snapshot of the VM

Take a snapshot of the VM in its current state, so that you can revert to a clean slate after running some exploits on the VM, or if any licensing or activation issues occur.

  1. Go to the Proxmox GUI

  2. Click the Windows 7 VM

  3. Click Snapshots

  4. Take a snapshot

  5. My snapshot settings are

    • Name: prereqs_installed
    • Description
    Configured:
    ---------------
    Disabled Firewall
    Disabled Updates
    Disabled Defender
    Uninstalled security updates
    
    Installed:
    ------------
    Git
    Python 2.7
    Immunity Debugger
    Mona.py
    Google Chrome
    7zip
    Runtime libraries for vulnerable apps
    





Hack the Vulnerable Applications

I linked you to two vulnerable 32-bit applications to be run on the Windows host. From here, as long as you have a debugger installed, you can get to work on hacking the vulnerable applications.

The best advice would be to go to Google (or your favorite search engine) and find some tutorials on developing exploits to target these vulnerable applications. There is no shortage of walkthroughs on various blogs or YouTube channels. The only difference between the walkthroughs and your environment will be the IP address of the target (and maybe your debugger). So, go have fun.





Finishing Up the Home Lab Guide

Click here to be taken back to complete the rest of the home lab guide.

Proxmox VE 7: Converting a Laptop into a Bare Metal Server
In this post, we will take a look at an in-detail process of setting up a Proxmox home lab on a bare metal server.

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