Kiosk Escape

📝 Overview

What it is: The act of bypassing restricted user interface environments (Kiosks) to interact with the underlying Operating System. Target Phase: Exploitation / Privilege Escalation Operating System: Primarily Windows, but applicable to Linux/Android kiosks.

⚙️ Core Capabilities

  • File Dialog Exploitation: Using “Open” or “Save As” windows to browse the filesystem.
  • Hotkey Interruption: Breaking the kiosk loop using system-level keyboard shortcuts.
  • Browser Breakout: Using “Print to PDF” or browser help links to access the local disk.

💻 Common Shortcuts

ShortcutPurpose
Ctrl+Shift+EscAttempt to open Task Manager.
Alt+F4Close the kiosk application.
Windows+EOpen File Explorer.
Shift (x5)Trigger Sticky Keys.

⚠️ Notes & Limitations

  • Modern Hardening: Modern Windows Kiosk mode (Assigned Access) is much harder to escape than older “shell replacement” methods.
  • Physical Access: Often requires physical interaction with the machine, making it a “Physical Security” or “Social Engineering” related objective.

🏷️ Tags

KioskEscape Exploitation PostExploitation Windows BreakingOut PenTestPlus attack SCADA