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performing-network-tunneling-and-pivoting

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Establishing tunnels, port forwards, and SOCKS proxies to reach internal networks from a foothold during authorized engagements - covering SSH local/remote/dynamic forwarding, proxychains, chisel, ligolo-ng, socat, plink, sshuttle, Meterpreter/Cobalt Strike routing, and covert DNS/ICMP/cloud tunnels.

internal/tools/skills/data/penetration-testing/performing-network-tunneling-and-pivoting/SKILL.md

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Network or broad shell
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Nov 9, 2026

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Repository last updated
Nov 9, 2026
License
Apache-2.0

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# Performing Network Tunneling and Pivoting

## When to Use
- You have a foothold (shell, session, or creds) on a host that can reach an internal subnet you cannot reach directly from the attack box.
- A target service (RDP `3389`, WinRM `5985`, SMB `445`, SQL `1433`, web) is only reachable from the compromised host or through a DMZ.
- Egress is restricted: only outbound `443`/HTTPS or DNS is allowed, so you need a covert tunnel (cloudflared, ngrok, dnscat2, iodine, ptunnel-ng).
- You need to route a whole scanning toolchain (nmap, netexec, evil-winrm) through one pivot.

## Critical: Techniques Most Often Missed
- **SOCKS over SSH (`-D`) + proxychains for the whole toolkit** — the highest-leverage pivot, frequently skipped in favor of single port forwards.
  ```bash
  ssh -f -N -D 1080 user@<compromised_ip>     # dynamic SOCKS proxy on local 1080
  echo "socks4 127.0.0.1 1080" >> /etc/proxychains.conf
  proxychains nmap -n -Pn -sT -p445,3389,5985 10.10.17.25
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