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Module 1 — Introduction & Kali Linux

This first module lays down two things no tool can replace: the vocabulary of the trade and the isolated lab you will work inside. Without the vocabulary, your report will not convince anyone. Without the lab, your experiments illegally leak out of your workstation.

Have you read Module 0 yet?

Before diving into Kali, take a look at Module 0 — Orientation, labs and certifications which sets the stage: which platform to pick between HTB Academy and TryHackMe, which certification to aim for (CPTS, OSCP, PNPT, eJPT), and how the 15-week roadmap you are starting today is set up. Two hours of reading that save weeks of fumbling.

What you will be able to do at the end of the module​

  • Name without hesitation the three words that come back most in a report: vulnerability, exploit, impact.
  • Explain the difference between an audit, a pentest, and a red team engagement.
  • Place every following module on the kill chain: you will always know where you are.
  • Set up an isolated attacker/victim lab on your workstation, with two VMs on a host-only network.
  • Take your first SYSTEM shell on a deliberately vulnerable target, with the evidence that goes into a report.

The four lessons of the module​

  1. 1.1 — Concepts — the posture, the vocabulary, the kill chain. Twenty minutes of reading. Nine expandable definition blocks unpack every tricky term (CVE, CVSS, SMB, Meterpreter, SYSTEM, filtered port).
  2. 1.2 — Guided walkthrough — you watch an exploit land: ARP scan, layered Nmap, Metasploit on MS17-010, hashdump. Every command is explained before it is launched.
  3. 1.3 — Hands-on lab — your turn. You build the lab, you take the shell, you produce the six-file deliverable.
  4. 1.4 — Module quiz — five questions to make sure the module's notions have stuck before you move on. It has no effect on the certificate, which depends on the final quiz.

The lab, before anything else​

Two virtual machines on your workstation, on a host-only network (never bridged, never NAT if you want them to see each other): a Kali Linux as the attacker, a Metasploitable 3 as the victim. Nothing leaves toward the internet, nothing arrives from your router. Lesson 1.3 sets it all up, step by step. It verifies isolation with a ping 8.8.8.8 that must fail.

A VirtualBox snapshot taken right after installation saves you hours when something goes wrong: one click brings the VM back. Take a clean baseline snapshot after every successful update.

The minimum vocabulary to stop feeling lost​

WordWhat it isWhat it is not
VulnerabilityA weakness identified in a system.Proof it can be exploited.
ExploitThe concrete move that turns the weakness into access.A mere flaw identifier (CVE).
ImpactThe real business consequence of the exploit.A CVSS score taken on its own.
ShellAn interface that runs your commands on the target.A file or a simple web access.
Kill chainThe sequence of stages of an attack, from reconnaissance to reporting.A fixed manual valid for every target.

Each word is unpacked in lesson 1.1, with examples and the confusions to avoid.

Next step​

Lesson 1.1 — Concepts starts cold, with no technical prerequisites. Take your time: the twenty minutes you spend there now will save you three hours of fumbling in the modules ahead.