Compiling Exploits

Classification: Host & Network Penetration Testing / Exploitation
Environment: Kali (compiling, not attacking a live target)

1. Executive Summary

Public exploit code often ships as source that must be compiled for the right platform. We set up the toolchains (mingw-w64 for Windows, gcc for Linux), then compile two examples: a VideoLAN VLC SMB buffer-overflow exploit cross-compiled to a Windows .exe (32- and 64-bit), and the Dirty COW Linux exploit built per its own in-source compile instructions.

2. Toolchains

Installing the Windows cross-compiler and the Linux compiler.

apt install mingw-w64
apt install gcc

3. VLC SMB Exploit (Windows, Searchsploit)

Finding and copying the exploit source.

searchsploit VideoLAN VLC SMB
searchsploit -m 9303           # copies 9303.c locally

The source has no compile notes, so we use the default cross-compile (64-bit build).

i686-w64-mingw32-gcc 9303.c -o exploit64
ls                              # 9303.c  exploit64.exe

32-bit build, linking the Winsock library.

i686-w64-mingw32-gcc 9303.c -o exploit32 -lws2_32
ls                              # exploit32.exe  exploit64.exe

4. Dirty COW (Linux, Exploit-DB)

Downloading the exploit from Exploit-DB.

This one ships with explicit compile instructions in its header comments.

// Compile with:
//   gcc -pthread dirty.c -o dirty -lcrypt

Compiling it accordingly.

gcc -pthread 40839.c -o exploit -lcrypt
ls                              # 40839.c  exploit

Offensive Security also maintains a GitLab repo of pre-compiled binary exploits as a reference.

5. Notes & Good Practice

1. Read the exploit source before compiling/running — understand what it does and check for backdoors.
2. Match the target architecture/ABI (32 vs 64-bit, required libraries like -lws2_32 or -lcrypt).
3. Test in an isolated lab VM — exploit PoCs can be destructive (Dirty COW even warns to restore /etc/passwd).
4. Prefer trusted sources (Exploit-DB verified entries, Offensive Security repos).