Interactive vs Non-Interactive Shells
Differences and how to upgrade non-interactive shells
- Non-interactive shells are limited e.g., you won't be able to backspace, move the arrow keys to retrieve past commands run, or auto-complete commands as you would on an Interactive shell.
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# Example of a non-interactive shell
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# Running commands
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$ whoami
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whoami
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parrot
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$
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# Using the up arrow to rerun the last command
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$ ^[[A
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# Example of an interactive shell
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# Running commands
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┌─[parrot@parrot]─[~]
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└──╼ $whoami
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parrot
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┌─[parrot@parrot]─[~]
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└──╼ $
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# Using the up arrow to rerun the last command
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┌─[parrot@parrot]─[~]
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└──╼ $whoami
- Non-interactive shells can be upgraded. Not only is this more convenient but it may also be a requirement when submitting evidence for certain pentesting certifications.
- When you pop a shell on a system it will be non-interactive and before you try to upgrade the shell, you need to see what's installed on it e.g.,
python,python3,bash, etc. as one of those will be a requirement for running the upgrade.
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# Identifying what's installed, look for other binaries too!
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$ which python python3 bash zsh
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/usr/bin/python3
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/usr/bin/bash
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# Upgrading the shell with python3
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$ python3 -c 'import pty; pty.spawn("/bin/bash")'
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┌─[parrot@parrot]─[~]
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└──╼ $whoami
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parrot
- If upgrading a shell fails it's likely the binary used (
python, etc.) is not installed or if you copy/pasted the command, the format may have changed e.g.,’instead of'like in the example below. - If you're stuck here with the
>just double check your command and run again or try another way.
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# Example of a failed shell upgrade
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python3 -c 'import pty; pty.spawn("/bin/bash")’
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> whoami
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whoami
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python -c 'import pty; pty.spawn("/bin/bash")'
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python3 -c 'import pty; pty.spawn("/bin/bash")'
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script -qc /bin/bash /dev/null
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perl -e 'exec "/bin/bash";'
Last modified 7mo ago