Penetration › Module 1 › Lesson 3
Lab VMs Only
Your pentest lab lives at $LAB_HOST on YOUR hardware — intentional vulnerable VMs, never stranger subnets.
Visual · pentest_lab_vms_only
Lab VMs you control. Host = $LAB_HOST. Original Cyberlium.
Opening
Exploiting a classmate's VM is everyone else's problem. YOUR lab VM keeps pentest where it belongs.
RoE named the host. This lesson names the asset boundary. A pentest lab belongs on an intentional vulnerable VM or test server you created — isolated from roommates' machines, employer production, and café ordering sites. $LAB_HOST is the name of that target — not a trending SaaS IP, not the dorm gateway. You verify you are targeting $LAB_HOST before any recon command runs. You do NOT nmap dorm subnets for 'practice,' do NOT exploit café routers, do NOT chain classmate deploys. Next: RoE Lab.
1. Lab VMs mean you control the snapshot
A pentest lab VM is a fresh VirtualBox, Hyper-V, or VMware image with intentional vulnerable services — as long as YOU own the hypervisor and strangers do not depend on it for production commerce. Document OS, IP, and who may power it off.
If you cannot find $LAB_HOST locally, provision your vulnerable lab template — do not 'fix' it by attacking someone else's deployed server.
Command guide
Try these commands — Lab VMs mean you control the snapshot
═══ TOOLS & WEBSITES ═══ Browse / read these (authorized learning only — stay in YOUR lab / program scope)
HackTheBox — https://www.hackthebox.com/ (authorized labs) TryHackMe — https://tryhackme.com/ (guided labs)
═══ INSTALL ═══
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):
Command — copy this
sudo apt install nmap sudo apt install python3
macOS:
Command — copy this
brew install nmap brew install python3
Windows:
Command — copy this
choco install nmap # or download https://nmap.org/download.html
Download https://python.org/downloads/
═══ LINUX / macOS ═══
Command — copy this
printf 'LAB_HOST=127.0.0.1 LAB_VLAN=host-only ' > "$HOME/cyberlium-lab/t19-lab.env" source "$HOME/cyberlium-lab/t19-lab.env" nmap -Pn -sS -T4 --top-ports 20 "$LAB_HOST"
Primary tools to practice this lesson: nmap, python3. Reference sites: HackTheBox (https://www.hackthebox.com/); TryHackMe (https://tryhackme.com/). Run every command in the box — install first, then the usage lines — only on YOUR lab / program scope.
2. Disposable lab, real consequences elsewhere
Snapshot or revert the lab VM between exercises. A lab asset is cattle: revert bad attempts, reapply scope, continue literacy. Pentest on employer production, school servers, or live shops is out of scope forever in Cyberlium modules.
Shell exports containing stranger IPs are evidence mishandling — redact to $LAB_HOST only in notes.
3. Pentester mirror
Enterprise pentest teams test only assets named in engagement letters the same way: scope spreadsheets, signed targets, legal review. Your lab is a miniature of that discipline.
Ship one line: asset=$LAB_HOST, scope=owned only, never=stranger LANs/café Wi-Fi.
4. What you ship: lab VM boundary rule
Document $LAB_HOST you control. Refuse stranger deploy URLs. No café router exploits. chmod 600 note.
5. What you record before the next lesson
Date. OS/IP. $LAB_HOST path proof. NEVER stranger LANs, café Wi-Fi, classmate hosts. File t19-m01-l03-lab-vms-only.txt chmod 600.
6. Wrong vs right: stranger nets vs YOUR lab VMs
Worked failure — same MSF word, opposite target. Right never needs a café Wi-Fi or classmate laptop.
Wrong
nmap every host on hackathon demo day. Exploit a live shop domain 'to learn OSCP.'
Right
Write lab VM boundary rule and $LAB_HOST. Next: RoE Lab.
Mission: prove lab VM isolation before tools
1) Document your lab OS/IP and path to $LAB_HOST. 2) Record how you verify target before recon. 3) Snapshot VM if applicable. Never exploit assets you do not own.
Stuck? Ask Cyberlium AI Mentor
If $LAB_HOST is missing, ask Mentor about vulnerable lab VM setup — not how to scan a dorm /24.
Knowledge Check
APPLY: Best target for pentest labs in this course:
Multiple choice
Knowledge Check
APPLY: True or False: Exploiting classmate IPs is acceptable pentest prep when bored.
True or False
Knowledge Check
APPLY: $LAB_HOST in Cyberlium means:
Multiple choice