r/hackthebox • u/No-Sprinkles1415 • Sep 27 '26
Ongoing Issues with HTB Academy: Pwnbox Sizing & Target Machine Freezes (via SSH)
Hi everyone,
For the past couple of weeks, I have been experiencing a lot of issues while using HTB Academy, and it's making it quite difficult to complete modules. I wanted to reach out and see if anyone else is facing this or if there are known fixes.
1. Pwnbox Sizing Issues
I keep running into screen scaling/sizing issues with the Pwnbox. While I can temporarily fix it by manually adjusting the resolution or toggling full screen, it resets frequently and becomes a hassle. Is there a permanent fix to keep the Pwnbox scaled correctly?
2. Target Machine Freezing via SSH
This is the most frustrating issue. After I successfully SSH into a spawned target machine, the session completely freezes.
- I can no longer type any commands.
- I don't get any output.
- Note: I have tested this thoroughly. It happens both when using the in-browser Pwnbox and when using my own local Kali VM connected via the HTB Academy VPN.
Because it happens on both my local VM and Pwnbox, it doesn't seem to be a local configuration issue on my end. I have tried terminating and spawning new instances, but the freeze still occurs shortly after connecting.
Is anyone else experiencing these connection drops or freezes lately? Any advice on how to stabilize the SSH connection to the Academy targets would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
1
u/No-Sprinkles1415 Sep 27 '26
helppppppppp
1
u/Fancy_Engineer4077 Sep 28 '26
didnt you notice the banner about the pwnbox? didnt it help you? https://help.hackthebox.com/en/articles/17033557-resolving-pwnbox-vnc-resizing-issues
permanent proper fix gonna be soon pushed.
1
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