Pivoting Tunneling and Port Forwarding

Introduction Pivoting is the practice of using a compromised host to reach networks that are not directly accessible from the attack box. In real assessments, this usually happens after obtaining credentials, SSH access, a shell, or a Meterpreter session on a system that sits between two segments. That compromised machine becomes a pivot host, jump host, foothold, or proxy, and from there the assessment can move deeper into the target environment without requiring direct connectivity from the outside. ...

April 15, 2026 · 14 min · Miguel Lameiro (lameiro0x)