Pdfy Htb Writeup Upd May 2026

Using DirBuster, we perform a directory brute-forcing attack on the web server and discover several directories, including /uploads , /download , and /admin . The /uploads directory seems to be used for storing user-uploaded files, while the /download directory appears to be used for downloading converted PDF files.

We then focus our attention on the PDF converter service running on port 8080. After analyzing the service using tools like curl and burpsuite , we discover that it allows users to convert various file formats to PDF. However, we also notice that the service does not perform any validation on user-input files, which could potentially lead to code execution vulnerabilities. pdfy htb writeup upd

Next, we proceed to enumerate the web server on port 80. We access the website using our browser and notice that it appears to be a simple web application with a search functionality. We also observe that the website uses a .pdf extension for its pages, which could indicate that the PDF converter service on port 8080 might be related to the web application. Using DirBuster, we perform a directory brute-forcing attack

nmap -sC -sV -oA initial_scan 10.10.11.232 The scan results reveal that the machine is running a web server on port 80, an SSH server on port 22, and a PDF converter service on port 8080. We also notice that the machine has a firewall configured, but it seems to be allowing incoming traffic on port 80. After analyzing the service using tools like curl

This writeup was updated to reflect changes made to the PDFY machine on Hack The Box. The machine was re-released with additional challenges and vulnerabilities, which were addressed in this updated writeup. Users are encouraged to revisit the machine and attempt to exploit it using the techniques described in this writeup.

./bin/bash

Upon further examination, we find that the pdfy-converter service runs as the root user and uses a configuration file located at /etc/pdfy-converter/config.json . We also notice that the configuration file has weak permissions, allowing the pdfy user to modify its contents.