HTB Pro Lab: Dante — Review, Wrecks & Lessons

When I finally jumped into Hack The Box’s Pro Lab Dante, I was coming from doing HTB boxes and TryHackMe challenges. I wanted something more than isolated machines that forces you to link everything together: enumeration, exploits, Active Directory, pivoting. Dante, billed as entry-level for Pro Labs, delivered more than I expected but not without its frustrations.

Dante is advertised as the entry point into Pro Labs, but I found it challenging, especially coming from more of a blue team background.

My certificate.

What Dante Is All About

Dante contains a collection of targets that make you practice more than just finding a single vulnerability. It consists of 14 machines and 27 flags.

You have to:

• Scan and enumerate thoroughly
• Deal with both Linux and Windows systems
• Learn how to escalate privileges in different ways
• Explore and exploit Active Directory environments
• Move laterally from one machine into another
• Build pivoting paths to reach hidden parts of the network

It’s meant for people who already have some experience with Hack The Box machines and want to try something more realistic, without jumping straight into the deep end.

Challenges I Faced

The hardest part for me wasn’t finding initial footholds — it was staying connected and moving deeper.

Pivoting with Chisel: I had used tunnels before, but Dante required chaining pivots together. Setting up Chisel correctly was a headache. At times, I thought I had the configuration right only to realize I had overlooked a small detail. When the tunnel finally worked, it felt like breaking through a brick wall.

Stability: There were moments where connections dropped or the lab disconnected. Re-establishing pivot chains after that was frustrating, but it taught me the value of keeping clear notes. Without documentation, retracing steps becomes painful. I kept everything organized in Obsidian, which made it easier to retrace my steps instead of starting from scratch. It could have been due to my kali-purple not having enough storage, but I still feel like this would be an issue with others.

Keeping Track of Subnets: Dante makes you aware of how quickly you can get lost in a multi-layered environment. I had to learn to map everything out carefully. Make sure you are at least familiar with mapping networks*.

What I Took Away

Despite the challenges, Dante forced me to build good habits that are essential for any pentest. I learned to always record IPs, services, and credentials (nothing is too small to note). I became more disciplined in organizing tunnels and pivots clearly in my notes. I also learned to expect things to break and to plan on redoing steps without panicking. Most importantly, I came away with a stronger understanding of how Active Directory weaknesses can connect to each other and how to think beyond just “popping a box.”

The Good and The Not So Good

What I liked:

• Excellent introduction to pivoting and Active Directory attacks
• Forces you to stay organized (no shortcuts)
• Gave me confidence with techniques I had only read about before

What I didn’t love:

• Some systems felt a bit dated
• The occasional disconnects broke the flow
• A few flags had more of a CTF feel than a real engagement

Final Thoughts

Dante is not the hardest lab out there, but it’s definitely challenging in my opinion. For anyone who wants to practice Active Directory exploitation and network pivoting in a structured way it is a great way to reinforce skills. It’s challenging enough to stretch you but approachable if you’ve already spent time on Hack The Box machines or real world engagements.

For me, it was worth it. I walked away with stronger skills in pivoting, better note-taking habits, and a clearer sense of how attackers can move inside a network. If you’re looking for your first Pro Lab, Dante is a great choice if you are willing to put in the time. Overall I think it took me a little over a week with working on it for at least 8 hours a day. Once you finish you get a certificate of completion and I might check out the shop to purchase one of the cool shirts they sell.

Awarded a “Gunslinger” badge after completion!

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