How to reset Cloud c2 license key or delete old server on local host and create new one or even recover account info

[GE0rGE01C]

Hi guys,

 

 

 

So this may sound strange, but i got a community cloud c2 license key a while ago and i managed to set it up with a user name and password which i remembered, but now when i trued the other day to access, the local host i set it as wont connect or respond and eventually I re downloaded the zip files and tired the process again. This time it was set up and i got to the log in but my credentials were invalid for some reason. 

 

 

 

So now I got another free license key, thinking I can hard reset the server license and create a whole new account but there's seems to be little to no way knowing how to do it. Does anyone have an idea how I can do this step by step if possible please.

 

I've tried the recover account and set pass argument but they dont work and I've tired everything else basic and still little to no closer to fixing this problem

 

 

 

TIA

 

 

 

P.S. alternatively is there anyway I could reset/change the username and password instead of resetting everything. And could I possible set the hostname as a static ip address i set my computer for in house wifi. thank you 🙂

[dark_pyrro]

18 minutes ago, GE0rGE01C said:

the local host i set it as wont connect or respond

Are you 100% sure the C2 server was up and running? Any local firewalls running on the device where the C2 server is running (if you're trying to access the C2 server from some other device than where it's running)?

19 minutes ago, GE0rGE01C said:

re downloaded the zip files and tired the process again. This time it was set up and i got to the log in but my credentials were invalid for some reason. 

Were you able to successfully walk through the whole setup process on the new server setup? Just to be sure, you can't use the credentials of the old server (unless you used the same when setting up the new server, pretty obvious though)

22 minutes ago, GE0rGE01C said:

So now I got another free license key, thinking I can hard reset the server license and create a whole new account but there's seems to be little to no way knowing how to do it. Does anyone have an idea how I can do this step by step if possible please.

If you start over from scratch, I don't really see how it can be an issue to set it up. You have to be more specific about what exact issues you face, and how you're trying to set it up. What do you mean when saying that you want to "hard reset the server license"?

23 minutes ago, GE0rGE01C said:

I've tried the recover account and set pass argument but they dont work

Be more specific about how you tried to recover the account and set the password. What command(s) did you run?

 

23 minutes ago, GE0rGE01C said:

And could I possible set the hostname as a static ip address i set my computer for in house wifi

Just use the IP address of the device on your local network that runs the C2 server

[GE0rGE01C]

Hi, thanks for your response.

so to tell more:

 

7 hours ago, dark_pyrro said:

Are you 100% sure the C2 server was up and running? Any local firewalls running on the device where the C2 server is running (if you're trying to access the C2 server from some other device than where it's running)?

Yes, the laptop I am using to access the server is also the only device the server is made on (it is the server), and no i dont know of any firewalls that may prevent it from running.

the typein in the google url shows it recognizes hak5s cloud c2 as a localhost server

After trying to login using the credentials is used before

 

7 hours ago, dark_pyrro said:

Were you able to successfully walk through the whole setup process on the new server setup? Just to be sure, you can't use the credentials of the old server (unless you used the same when setting up the new server, pretty obvious though)

This is of my PowerShell when I tried to assign my server as the local host (tried same with a static ip address for my laptop), the same thing happens with command prompt, I'm on a windows machine BTW I don't think I mentioned that. Anyway, it stops as it saying its running the cloud c2 and I've tired logging into it from googles URL but when I use the username and password I set, it says they are invalid. I think I understand it saying to update the device but I don't think that will help or make any difference to trying to get past the login when the credentials wont work. 

7 hours ago, dark_pyrro said:

If you start over from scratch, I don't really see how it can be an issue to set it up. You have to be more specific about what exact issues you face, and how you're trying to set it up. What do you mean when saying that you want to "hard reset the server license"?

Ok yes, I'm sorry if I seemed a little brief. So what I did was download the latest cloud c2 zipped folder, unzipped it and ran the command you see above because before the localhost page I assigned as the server would connect it said on screen (must be because i didn't set a specific ip address and its changed, meaning it dont know what i mean by 'localhost' now). So I wanted to try and reset it entirely, so new license number and new ip address to assign as the server url link, which i have set statically is the ideal thing I want to do so from now on I use one ip that is also the link to the server to run my gear from. hope that make sense, but please ask more if unsure.

 

7 hours ago, dark_pyrro said:

Be more specific about how you tried to recover the account and set the password. What command(s) did you run?

the '-recoverAccount' argument along with the '-setPass' to a new password which still don't work, these you add after putting the -hostname in, I tried the hostnames of 'localhost' '127.0.0.1' and even the static one I'm looking to use for the new one but it simply says recovery failed and exits, I'll provide a screen shot below.

 

I also tired setting the -recoverAccount with my username but that still wont work.

7 hours ago, dark_pyrro said:

Just use the IP address of the device on your local network that runs the C2 server

Yes that exactly what I want, to use the static ip i have on my laptop here as the hostname.

 

I know that all is a little long winded but its the best of what I can tell I've done and tired. Thanks again for the help your giving so far

 

[dark_pyrro]

First, don't use localhost as the hostname parameter when starting the C2 server. The server will start, but any Hak5 devices that you try to connect to the C2 server will not find it (as the C2 output in your screenshot says). Use the IP address of the machine that hosts the C2 server (or hostname on the network if you have that set up, which I think you have not).

So, the username that you used when setting up the C2 server is "localhost"(?!)

 

[GE0rGE01C]

16 minutes ago, dark_pyrro said:

First, don't use localhost as the hostname parameter when starting the C2 server. The server will start, but any Hak5 devices that you try to connect to the C2 server will not find it (as the C2 output in your screenshot says). Use the IP address of the machine that hosts the C2 server (or hostname on the network if you have that set up, which I think you have not).

So, the username that you used when setting up the C2 server is "localhost"(?!)

 

Ow really, darn, I didnt know that. I want to use this static ip address I have set for the laptop the server will run from and where I will host all my Hak5 gear, so that shoudl be possible right.

 

And yes I used that name and when you type 'Localhost' in google, the login page shown previously comes up.

[dark_pyrro]

1 minute ago, GE0rGE01C said:

And yes I used that name and when you type 'Localhost' in google, the login page shown previously comes up.

Just to be sure that you understand the difference between hostname and username correctly. I suspect that you might not have gotten it right judging from the way you express yourself in that sentence. I assume that you mean the Chrome web browser when you say "google". If you type Localhost in the address bar and press enter, it will show the login page of the C2 server as long as you visit the C2 server from the same machine where C2 is running. However, that doesn't mean that localhost is the username, hence my question. I want to be sure that you entered "localhost" in the "Username" field during the initial setup of the C2 server. I'm referring to the "Username" field in this setup screen.

[GE0rGE01C]

5 minutes ago, dark_pyrro said:

Just to be sure that you understand the difference between hostname and username correctly. I suspect that you might not have gotten it right judging from the way you express yourself in that sentence. I assume that you mean the Chrome web browser when you say "google". If you type Localhost in the address bar and press enter, it will show the login page of the C2 server as long as you visit the C2 server from the same machine where C2 is running. However, that doesn't mean that localhost is the username, hence my question. I want to be sure that you entered "localhost" in the "Username" field during the initial setup of the C2 server. I'm referring to the "Username" field in this setup screen.

Ok, I think I see where your coming from. yes, when you type "localhost" in chrome, the server login page shows up and its on the same machine i originally set it up on, and no in the username when setting it up a while ago, i created a username (which is not "localhost") that I saved as that I presume you enter in the login page when you want to log back into the server?

 

I understand if this may seem a bit confusing (it is for me), but if I cannot recover my account by the username and password which continuously appear to be wrong even though I'm sure I saved them correctly or its too much a tricky process, I am willing to simply wipe the original away and start form scratch, I don't have any important loot in the old one and would be able to start all over again.

[dark_pyrro]

If localhost isn't the username, then just use the actual username that was set during the initial configuration (instead of localhost) for the -recoverAccount parameter when trying to recover the password/account.

[GE0rGE01C]

I have tried that but they just seem to be incorrect, which confuses me, I type them correctly so now I just want to try and remove the original server and create a new one on the laptop in its place, and use the new license key I got if that is required. I may save e a lot of time and I can just start from scratch again and it would make things much easier for me.

 

please can you tell or show how i can remove and add new c2 servers on here if you know how to please.

 

Can I say thanks for your help so far, its actually a bit of an experience for me to, learning more about how the c2 server separate and why the hostnames can be really sensitive to what you choose. 

[dark_pyrro]

If you haven't set it up as a service (probably not since you are running Windows), then it's nothing to remove really. Just delete (or rename, or move) the database file. Then start over using the exe file you have already downloaded/unzipped. You don't need a new license either, just re-use the one(s) you've already got.

[GE0rGE01C]

I've tried that already quite a few times but when I put the static ip I want to use in the Chrome search bar it brings up the login, but it don't allow anyway to change the username or password or even how to recover. So it just takes me in circles, unless I'm missing something when setting it up on cmd.

 

What commands do you use when setting one up on a windows, step by step.

[dark_pyrro]

Visit
https://downloads.hak5.org/

Click "Cloud C2"

Download the zip file with the latest C2 version (3.4.0 at the time this is written)

Open a Terminal and verify the SHA256 checksum of the downloaded zip file
certutil -hashfile .\c2-3.4.0.zip SHA256
or
Get-FileHash .\c2-3.4.0.zip -Algorithm SHA256

Unpack the zip file to some directory of choice, for example:
C:\Temp\C2

Remove all files but "c2-3.4.0_amd64_windows.exe" (since they aren't needed)

In the already open Terminal (or open a new one), head over to the directory where the C2 executable was extracted
cd C:\Temp\C2

Identify the IP address of the PC
ipconfig

In this example = 172.26.13.152

Start the C2 server
.\c2-3.4.0_amd64_windows.exe -hostname 172.26.13.152
or, if port 80 is preferred
.\c2-3.4.0_amd64_windows.exe -hostname 172.26.13.152 -listenport 80

Make sure to allow traffic to the port in the local Windows firewall to make future Hak5 devices being able to connect to the server over the local network

Leave the Terminal window open, don't close it since it will terminate the C2 server

Make sure that nothing has changed when it comes to the PC having a working internet connection since the C2 server will verify the license key against online resources

Head over to a web browser of choice and enter
http://172.26.13.152:8080
or, if using port 80
http://172.26.13.152
or, use the link that is presented in the Terminal window that includes the setup token

In the setup window that appears, make sure the selected C2 edition is correct, then enter:
- License Key (any valid C2 license key, such as: I0I0-3F3F-ZAZA-8N8N - that's not a true C2 license key, just made it up)
- First Name, for example: Test
- Last Name, for example: Testson
- Contact, for example: Test Testson
- Username, for example: tester01
- Password, for example: testtest123    (also confirm it)
- Site Name, for example: C2TestSite
- Site Description, for example: C2 Test Site

Check "I accept the EULA & Terms of Service"

Click "Save"

The login window of the C2 server is shown

Login using the username and password that was recently set, in this case:
Username = tester01
Password = testtest123

Click "Login"

The C2 main dashboard is shown

---

If, the password for some reason is forgotten ("... darn, I forgot my password, but I do remember the username")

Make sure that the C2 server is not already up and running

Open a Terminal window, navigate to the directory where the C2 executable is located, and run
.\c2-3.4.0_amd64_windows.exe -hostname 172.26.13.152 -recoverAccount tester01 -setPass testtest123new

The output should echo back something like
[+] tester01's password successfully changed
[*] Account Recovery Complete

Now, start the C2 server back up again
.\c2-3.4.0_amd64_windows.exe -hostname 172.26.13.152 -listenport 80

Visit the C2 server in a web browser and login with the newly set password for the tester01 user
http://172.26.13.152/#/login

[GE0rGE01C]

I've tired it many times now but it still goes tot eh original login asking for login credentials, not the set up page

 

I've even tired the '-recoveraccount' options but that just says its failed and 'exiting' 

 

So, I am literally confused and unsure why this is happening, I've deleted and done every step possible but it just refuses to reset.

 

Although, when after entering the hostname and port, the first sentence with the ! is that the server is set to use a private IP range, btu that shouldn't make much difference should it.

[dark_pyrro]

11 hours ago, GE0rGE01C said:

it still goes tot eh original login asking for login credentials, not the set up page

If this is the case you have a C2 instance already running on the PC, or an old C2 database file in the same directory as the C2 binary. However, it shouldn't be possible to run two instances of the C2 server on the same machine this way since it will complain about the same ports used by different processes.

If you do it the way I have specified (and aren't having any C2 instance already running on the PC, or an already existing C2 database file), then you should get to the setup dialog, not the login page.

11 hours ago, GE0rGE01C said:

the first sentence with the ! is that the server is set to use a private IP range

If you use a private range IP address for the C2 server, C2 will report that, but there's nothing wrong with that, it's just "informational".

[GE0rGE01C]

32 minutes ago, dark_pyrro said:

If this is the case you have a C2 instance already running on the PC, or an old C2 database file in the same directory as the C2 binary. However, it shouldn't be possible to run two instances of the C2 server on the same machine this way since it will complain about the same ports used by different processes.

If you do it the way I have specified (and aren't having any C2 instance already running on the PC, or an already existing C2 database file), then you should get to the setup dialog, not the login page.

Well, sure yes that is a possibility but I deleted all original files before and then did every step mentioned before but its still happening.

 

I don't know if I still have a trace of the old one somewhere, but if so I have no idea where.

 

I've tired a few times with the same set up with a new folder but same result. what if I used a different listen port, will that help or make the server more vulnerable?

[dark_pyrro]

If you don't have any old C2 database file in the same directory as the C2 executable, or actively specify any already existing C2 database using the "-db" argument, then any possible traces of old setups won't be affecting a completely new setup on the same PC.

Using some other listenport won't affect anything.

You could try using some other web browser, or visit the C2 server using a private/incognito window.

[GE0rGE01C]

I've just tired that but still it goes to the login page instead of set up 😔.

 

I cant seem to find any trace of any other c2 database, this is really confusing to me, (I don't know about you but this can be frustrating for some).

[GE0rGE01C]

Or even, are there any commands that can be used to delete an old one or see the user names and passwords of the registered accounts on that device? I don't mean to be negative, but removing and setting up a new server is anything but easy as the instructions claim.

[dark_pyrro]

It's not difficult at all, the simplest type of setup (the one you're trying to do) is as easy as it gets. I've done it myriads of times in different configs and on different operating systems without issues.

To be able to assist you any further, you need to provide screenshots of every step you make when setting it up from scratch (following the step by step I provided), all the way to where it fails (including a screenshot of the directory where you store the C2 executable before starting the setup/"installation").

Also, a screenshot of the output when you run the following command in a PowerShell window before starting the setup/"installation:

Get-Process c2*

(assuming that you haven't renamed any C2 executable in previous attempts to get it up and running)

[GE0rGE01C]

On 7/18/2024 at 7:33 PM, dark_pyrro said:

To be able to assist you any further, you need to provide screenshots of every step you make when setting it up from scratch (following the step by step I provided), all the way to where it fails (including a screenshot of the directory where you store the C2 executable before starting the setup/"installation").

Ok, yes sorry, I'll send you a DM with screenshots of what i do, see if you can see what I cant.

[GE0rGE01C]

Also before I forget, I will have to cover up the ip address I use and any other sensitive info, I'm sure you understand

[Irukandji]

No direct messages. Please. It's not easy for someone else to jump in.

[GE0rGE01C]

Ok fine, but I'm still gonna have to cover up sensitive info like ip, at least the first 3 ID's, i still hope you understand, you cant ever be too careful with people like us haha.

[GE0rGE01C]

1. Download file of latest update form Hak5

2 and 3. Extract files and save them to own folder

4. Delete all expect file for OS system (amd64 windows)

5. Command in PowerShell used to set up server

6. Commands output, which should be different including asking for license key and link to setup page on search engine

7. Hostname/IP address entered in chrome search bar

8. Output, it should be set up page not login page

9. Just a little show of how my supposed to be correct credentials are invalid, the 'recoveraccount' command along with the 'setpass' fail by saying the recovery mode has failed and exits.

10. The 'Get-process c2' command before the set up was tired

[GE0rGE01C]

So here is a set of screenshots of the steps i take to setup a new server which takes to the login page as if the original is still here. Also, is the 'Get Process c2' command attempt
 

Thanks for help so far BTW, hopefully this can give a better idea of what I'm doing wrong.