---
# System prepended metadata

title: HTB - Meow Writeup

---

# HTB - Meow Writeup
Difficulty Level - Very Easy

## Tools
* nmap

## Recon
The very first thing was to carry out an nmap scan to see which ports are open, and as well the services running on each open port.I specidically tagetted three ports.

![](https://i.imgur.com/H46t4mY.png)

We find `port 23` open and is running a `telnet` service

Lets try to connect to the telnet port 23

Use the command `sudo apt-get install telnet` if you dont have it installed or you're using a VM.
![](https://i.imgur.com/ZRR6z4i.png)


We get presented with a login screen. Having in mind the hint given in the previous task. A root user is able to login in telnet service without a password. We tried using the root and we gained the access.


Lets confirm in the terminal if we are the root user.

![](https://i.imgur.com/UTTKCIo.png)


If we list files in the current working directory, we see the flag.txt is listed.

![](https://i.imgur.com/HPeaNeK.png)


Finally we can run the cat flag.txt to reveal the flag! Easy-peasy🥳🥳

# Summary
This is a super easy challenge in HTB for beginners and still part of an experience. Its good for you to get to learn the nmap tool and exploitation of telnet. The vulnerability with telnet is in this case account misconfiguration, where a superuser i.e `root` is allowed login without issuing a password.


Written By;
Samson Kapere
Ethical Hacker in the making | CTF Player | Digital Forensics Specialist