Operation Coldstart TryHackMe CTF Walkthrough

📰 Medium · Cybersecurity

Learn to solve the Operation Coldstart CTF challenge on TryHackMe by following a step-by-step walkthrough, improving your network reconnaissance and vulnerability exploitation skills.

intermediate Published 20 Jun 2026

Action Steps

Update your local DNS to access the staging server using the command 'echo 10.48.175.56 coldstart.thm >> /etc/hosts'
Run an Nmap scan to discover open ports and services using 'nmap -sS -sC -sV -p- coldstart.thm'
Analyze the scan results to identify potential vulnerabilities
Exploit the identified vulnerabilities to gain access to the system
Use the gained access to explore the system and find flags or complete the challenge objectives

Who Needs to Know This

This walkthrough is beneficial for cybersecurity teams, particularly those involved in penetration testing and vulnerability assessment, as it provides hands-on experience with network reconnaissance and exploitation techniques.

Key Insight

💡 Network reconnaissance and vulnerability exploitation are crucial skills for cybersecurity professionals, and this walkthrough provides practical experience with these techniques.

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Title: Operation Coldstart TryHackMe CTF Walkthrough

URL Source: https://medium.com/@C09N1T1V3/operation-coldstart-tryhackme-ctf-walkthrough-7f6290fc1b80?source=rss------cybersecurity-5

Published Time: 2026-06-20T08:38:23Z

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# Operation Coldstart TryHackMe CTF Walkthrough

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Jun 20, 2026

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Wake up the staging server everyone left behind.

![Image 3](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:412/1*9y0T72LDpZSXAux7uZpWMw.png)

To interact with it, first updated my local DNS:

echo "10.48.175.56 coldstart.thm" >> /etc/hosts

Press enter or click to view image in full size

![Image 4](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:700/1*xbUeHIgxd4hQbqCUyv62Nw.png)

## Step 1: Network Reconnaissance

With the server accessible, ran an **Nmap scan** to discover open ports and services:

nmap -sS -sC -sV -p- coldstart.thm
* `-sS`: Stealth SYN scan
* `-sC`: Default scripts
* `-sV`: Service version detection
* `-p-`: Scan all 65,535 ports

P

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